Score One
by The Nearly Missed
Summary: Let's expand your vocabulary a bit, Mattie. Why thank you Linda; it's a wonder how much a single word could teach me about myself! MxM, cursing, shonen-ai.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **Hola, ! I know it's been a while for me, but here's another little MxM drabble for you. I have no clue where it came from, so don't even ask. Pardon their mouths. BoyXBoy, so don't like, don't read. If you _do_ read it, be sure to leave a review when you're done, please! Do enjoy.

**NEW!** I was thinking about it for a while, and I think I'm going to expand this into an actual story. It will be an _actual story_, which is new for me. But I'll probably end up using some of my already published work as a chapter or two, so once those chapters go up, I'll be taking their one-shot forms down. If you want a sneak peek, read 'em while you can! Thanks!

**x**

It was just like any day at Wammy's House in Winchester, England. It was lunchtime, and Mello was scanning the pages of his biology textbook as he shoved spoonful after spoonful of macaroni into his mouth. A flash of red bounced to a stop in the chair beside him, and without looking up, the blond drawled, "What do you want, Matt?"

"Noooothiiiing," He drew the word out innocently. "I was just curious. You're higher ranking here than I am—"

"Best respect."

"I do, I do. So, you presumably know more than me, right?"

"Obviously." He set down his spoon and turned to stare blankly at the gamer. "Where is this going?" He reached for a sip of milk.

Matt squirmed in his seat, thinking of the best approach to the question he had on mind. Not one for subtlety, the redhead blurted out, "What does the word uke mean?"

The blond snorted and pressed a hand to his nose. A drop of milk slid from his nostril. "Are you serious? Go look it up for yourself; I'm not repeating that in public."

"But this is a _private_ school for orphans, so technically, we're not in public."

"I don't care. Do it yourself." He rose and dropped his half-eaten plate of macaroni at the kitchen and disappeared in the direction of the library.

**x**

Later that day, Mello opened the door to his and Matt's room. The gamer was sitting on the bottom bunk, tapping away furiously at the keyboard. When he heard the door click open, he glanced up. "Oh, Mels! Guess what?"

"What?" Mello asked uninterestedly as he tossed his books on the swivel chair in front of his desk.

"Two things: One, I just started Tetris Battle on Facebook this morning, and I'm already level 42!"

Mello cleared his throat, "Dork."

"Hey, _you_ try it! Anyway. Two, I looked up 'uke.'" _Oh God,_ Mello groaned inwardly. Matt scowled at the laptop and placed it on the night table beside the bed. "And I would just like to say that I resent that!"

"Resent what?" The blond scrunched his eyebrows at the gamer.

"Well," Matt thought, placing his fingers to his chin, "How do I say this? Well, a certain artist may or may not have told me that I was the uke of our relationship." He waved his hand between himself and Mello as he stood up. "The '_catcher_,' the '_bottom._' You know. But _I_ say that'd be you." He made air quotes to emphasize his words.

That caught him off guard. "Wait, what relationship?" Mello sputtered and felt his skin heat.

Matt replied by pushing his lips against his roommate's. With a loud smack, he pulled back, leaving behind a stunned and flustered blond. "This relationship."

"Well fuck. Are you gay, Mattie?"

It was the redhead's turn to sputter incoherently. "Depends, a-are you?"

Mello facepalmed. "Let's just get this straight: I'm _not_ gay. And even if I _were—_and this is _completely hypothetical—_you'd be the uke."

Matt raised an eyebrow behind his goggles. "Oh really?"

"Really," Mello said, nodding his head firmly.

"Do you wanna bet on that?" The gamer said with a smirk.

"How much are we talking?"

"A week's worth of chocolate and or gaming. Loser has to go without their favorite."

"You're on," Mello growled and tackled Matt back onto the bed. The redhead yelped and tried to fight back, but it was futile. Within moments, the stronger blond had Matt pinned down by the shoulders, and he glared at him. Leaning down, Mello kissed him roughly and whispered snidely in his ear, "There's a reason you're on the bottom bunk."

"Well fuck. Are you gay, Mels?" Matt used Mello's own words against him. He grinned smugly.

"Depends, are you?" The blond purred. Matt's eyes flashed wide as his roommate thrust his lips against his once more. Finally, his eyelids slid closed and he kissed back.

"Hey Mello, do you have—" Linda opened the door before cutting herself off when her eyes met her two friends. With a giggle, she closed the door. She hissed to herself, "Score one for Linda!"


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **Here's chapter two everyone! It's shorter, but it came quickly. Chapters for this story will probably be sporadic and short. But hey, that just makes it more fun, right? Be sure to review!

x

The next day, Matt and Linda sat in their Chemistry class. The gamer snored softly as the artist took furious notes. The bell rang, jolting Matt from his nap. Linda rolled her eyes and dragged him to their next class: study hall.

"Hey, Mattie," Linda whispered teasingly at the drowsy redhead.

"Wha?" Matt drawled, looking up from his textbook pillow.

"Oh, nothing."

"Then why'd you call me?" He dropped his head back onto his _libro de espa__ñ__ol cuatro._

"Well," Linda continued, smirking as he tiredly lifted his head again. "I was just thinking. I know you tried to put up a good argument for yourself when I told you that you were the uke yesterday."

Nothing the brunette had just said registered to Matt. "And?" He asked, anyway.

"Well, I was thinking that I would repeal that statement if you could prove it."

Matt shot her a withering look. "Really? You're still going on about that?"

"Whoa, whoa. Wait. Did you just say what I think you just said?" Linda held open his eyes then pulled on his jaw and looked down his throat. A nice set of white teeth greeted her.

"What the hell are you doing?" Pancake breath was forced down her nostrils. She jumped back and scowled quietly.

"Matt! Linda!" Mr. Gardner called and put a finger to his lips.

The brunette lowered her voice. "Did you really just let something go? You always try to persuade me that you're the best in every way. Did you finally grow up or something?"

Matt fiddled with a black duct tape bracelet around his wrist. "Well I'm almost fifteen. I mean, I guess it's about time, right?"

"No, it's never time. You always said that you're never gonna grow up, that you'll be a kid at heart forever." Somebody turned on the lights of Linda's mind. "Ooh," She hummed devilishly. "Or, are you letting it go because you know it's true?"

His head snapped to look at her and he struggled to keep a lazy look in his eye. He snorted. "No way in Hell. I think we all know that I'm straight, so it doesn't apply to me anyway."

"Hey Matt, could you hold up some fingers for me?"

He flipped her off, and she squinted. "Maybe I do need glasses. That's three, right?"

"Seriously, what kind of shit are you tryin' to pull?" He raised an eyebrow at her.

"Huh? Oh, I was just checking to see if I was going blind," She lowered her voice to barely a whisper, "because I could have sworn I saw you and Mello snogging on your bed last night. And you were on bottom, my little uke."

Matt clenched his teeth and shot her a glare worthy of their English teacher. "_Shut up,_" he growled through his pearly whites. His face grew red.

"So it's true?" Linda whispered excitedly.

"Yeah, sure, whatever. Just don't let it get out or I'll tell Finch you're stalking him," He warned gravely, nodding slightly to the left, where a scrawny blonde kid sat, hand to head and pencil to paper.

It was all she could do to not screech. "Now, now, we don't need to do that. Let's just clarify this: you and Mello are gay and you're the uke."

Matt flushed even more. "No, he just kissed me. I'm still not gay."

"Really, now. Hon, you seemed to be more into it than he was. Just come out of the closet before I have to go in there and drag you out," Linda threatened, cracking a knuckle with a wink.

"God, Linda! You've got a mouth bigger than a hippo!" He hissed angrily. There was another hush from the teacher.

Linda twirled her hair. "Just wait. You'll come out sooner or later, by your own will or against it." She looked down at her notebook. A chill went down Matt's spine.

_Like that's not creepy or anything_.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **No homework equals a happy and creative Rachie. Enjoy the quick updates while you can; I think this is the fastest I've ever updated a chapter, hands down. And for all of you anxious beavers out there waiting for more MxM, patience, my young padawans. Good things come to those who wait. ;)

**x**

Let's look in on Matt and Mello. Right now, they're in their usual positions. Matt's lazing about on his bed with a controller glued to his hands and the TV on. Mello's sitting at his desk, actually working on the stack of homework that was assigned that night, earbuds in, and music turned up just enough to drown out the battle cries of Ieyasu's forces in Sengoku Basara.

"Haha!" Matt cackled maniacally at the screen as the last general went down. "Oh, what'cha gonna do now, Mitsunari? Huh?"

Mello swirled around casually in his chair and gave an icy glare to the excited ginger. He cleared his throat. "I mean, yay, I won," he mumbled and waved a finger in the air, much quieter than his initial outburst.

"Won what?" Linda strolled into their room as if she owned the place. "I hope I'm not _interrupting_ anything." She said with a smirk directed at Mattie.

"Nope, just a dumbass screaming at an inanimate objects." Mello explained, furiously scribbling down an answer on his trig homework.

Matt let out a sarcastic chuckle. "Actually, no, I was _cheering_ at an inanimate object, thank you very much."

Linda strolled across the hard-wood floored room and sat down at the foot of the bottom bunk. She pointed at his pillow. "Right there," she mouthed teasingly with a wink.

Matt turned red. "Get out." He said, staring her straight in the eyes, pointing in the general direction of the door. He could feel Mello's eyes burning a hole into the side of his head.

The brunette crawled over her feet and stretched out on Matt's bed, her chin level with his belly button. "Aw, come on Matt-Matt. You know it's all for your own good in the end," she said in an irresistibly adorable tone, using the gamer's pet name as icing on the persuasive cake.

"If you can shut up, fine, you can stay." He gave in easily.

"We all know that's a physical impossibility," Mello put in, turning around.

She scoffed. "Why thank you for your input, genius."

"Don't you have homework you should be doing?" The blond glanced at her, one eyebrow raised.

Linda snorted humorously. "I'm an artist. I haven't cared about written assignments for years now. It's not like I'm even remotely in the running for L's successor, anyway." She said lightly, pulling her dark brown hair over one shoulder. "Not that I'd want to be."

"Hmph. To each his own, I guess." He turned back to his stack of papers.

"Hey Mello," Linda called, and he spun again, impatience seeping into his actions. She smiled brightly. "I was just wondering what you were doing last night."

Matt facepalmed, and Mello's eyes narrowed at him. He held up his hands innocently.

"And pray tell, what do you _think_ I did last night?" The blond looked to Linda.

"Nothing much, really. Some studying, a bit more studying, maybe a snog somewhere in there, more studying," She spoke lightly and quickly, hoping the third item she listed would be heard.

Mello glared at Matt. "You said something."

"No, no, no! I swear, I didn't say a thing!" He showed Mello the palms of his hands.

Linda clicked her tongue. "'Tis true, young chap," she nodded importantly, sporting a posh English accent. "Though if you're going to do that, I suggest you find a way to lock your door, lest you be outed to all of Wammy's House. Maybe try putting a 'Making Out, Do Not Disturb' sign outside."

"Must I really murder you?" Matt said, trying desperately to quell his blushing, but it resulted only in him blushing more.

"I'll gladly help," Mello added with an angry sneer on his face.

Linda sat back on her haunches and looked at the two boys. "What? You both know you loved it. You're gay; just admit that and I might just be happy."

"Never!" Matt shouted, throwing his pillow at Linda. "Back! Back, you beast!" He stopped. "Oh God, I should really stop playing medieval dragon games…" The gamer mumbled to himself. "It's not true; the whole thing was just a bet," He addressed the artist at the end of his bed again.

Mello smirked. "Which reminds me." He stood and yanked the cord out of Matt's PS2, effectively shutting down the game system.

"Nooooo!" Matt yelled dramatically, raising two fists to the ceiling and bumping them against the wood of the top bunk. "I _just_ defeated Mitsunari on difficult!"

"Jeez, calm down. It auto saves, smart one," The blond took the console under his arm and shoved it in the bottom of his desk, where his chocolate stash was. He locked the drawer and stuffed the key in his pocket.

The redhead cleared his throat and bowed his head. "Ah, right."

"I'm guessing the loser has to go without their addiction for an allotted amount of time?" Linda asked, observing the two boys.

"Nail on the head, Linda. Matt lost. I keep my chocolate, he suffers for a week." Mello winked effortlessly and sat back down at his desk. "_Maybe_ I'll be able to finish my homework now."

"And_ maybe_ guinea pigs will sprout wings and begin their world domination plan," Linda deadpanned. Matt looked at her in horror, before she scrunched her eyebrows and looked him in the eye. "Wait, what _kind_ of bet?"

Mello clammed up and pretended the Bach in his ears overwhelmed the artist's voice. Her eyes turned to Matt. "Tell me."

The gamer tried to hold it in, but he gave in. Poor little Mattie, he couldn't hold an opinion if it was strapped to his hand. "We kind of bet each other that the other was the uke so he held me down and kissed me. _Thanks to you,_ I might add." Deaf Mello could suddenly hear and twirled once more, shooting daggers at Matt.

"Oh, you know you loved it. In fact, I'm completely okay with the idea. I just wanna hear you guys say it," Linda said, nodding to herself. Mello and Matt made eye contact. "And don't worry; I may talk a lot, but I can hold a secret. I just don't want to get my facts wrong. You know how I hate inaccuracy."

With a sigh, Mello rolled his eyes dismissively. Matt looked directly at Linda. "Fine. I'm gay," he slapped a hand to his chest, "for Mello." He waved at the blond.

"And if it really floats your boat, vice versa," Mello said, waving a hand behind him at Linda.

"Awe. Ain't that adorable? But—" Matt rolled back with a loud groan and bumped his head against the wall. Linda snorted at him. "I don't think that's enough to quench my natural curiosity. Prove it," the brunette said, crossing her arms.

Mello stood abruptly, almost knocking over his chair. He strode purposefully across the room grabbed Matt by the shirt and kissed him full on. Matt grinned through the kiss, unable to keep a straight face.

Linda let out a short fangirl squeal. "I love you guys, so, so much," she said dreamily.

The blond released his grip on Matt's black and white striped shirt and let him fall backwards, bumping his head on the wall again before pulling himself to a sitting position again. Mello stood by his desk and pointed at Linda. "Speak of this and I'll pull an Edgar Allan Poe on you."

"Chop me up and hide me under the floorboards, or bring me down a wine cellar and brick it shut?"

"Both," Mello said threateningly.

Linda, still smiling, raised an eyebrow. "You're going to chop me up, hide me under the floorboards of a wine cellar then brick the cellar shut?"

"Precisely. Now _out. _Right now."

The artist stood and bounced happily. "Your wish is my command, Master," she said with a curtsy. "Your secret is safe with me!" With a sharp salute, she slid out the door, still giggling to herself.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** I'm back with another quick upload! Forget writer's block; I've got writer's diarrhea. As I was told by 494dwangel, I had anonymous reviews disabled. Idiot move on my part. I thought I had enabled them, but I didn't! Anywho, it should be fixed now. :)

Almost forgot again: _**I do not own Death Note or any real life items and/or people I may or may not have mentioned so far.**_

X

Matt stared at the bookshelf full of miscellaneous junk, knick knacks, and actual books. He slid one out, flipped through it, and put it back. Again and again, he examined the contents of the shelf, each time accentuating each snap of the book shutting with a sigh.

"Can you stop that?" Mello asked, annoyed. He sat up on his bunk bed, trying to read _Great_ _Expectations_, but not finding much success with the rhythmic interruptions.

"No, sorry. I think I might just die of boredom."

"Well if it makes you shut up, go for it."

"Hey, if I die first, you're gonna miss me," Matt said indignantly, tossing a koosh ball at the blond.

He caught it with one hand and examined it. "I still can't believe this thing hasn't popped yet." It bounced off Matt's forehead and onto the ground, leaving a stunned look on the redhead's face.

"Mels, can I pleeeeaase have my PS2 back? I'm dyin' here." Matt whined and a slight New York accent leeched its way into his voice.

"Nope."

Barely a beat went by before Finch's voice shouted from outside the door as he walked by, "Chuck Testa!"

Matt stuck his head out the door and yelled after him, drawing out the word, "Raaaage!"

As the scrawny kid walked away, he turned and walked backwards for a moment. "You mad, bro?"

"Nope, you?"

The redhead withdrew into the room. Mello looked at him. "You're so immature. You know that, right?"

"There is nothing immature about the internet, thank you very much."

"Okay, then go make me a sandwich."

"Aha, _that's _what women are for."

"I wonder what Linda would think of that?" Matt shut up. "I mean, you _are_ my bitch now, right?"

Matt picked up the koosh ball and replaced it on the bookshelf. "About that. Does that whole thing last night make us, you know, a thing?"

"Well, if all I really want to do whenever I see you is snog your brains out, then I guess. A secret 'thing' but a 'thing' nonetheless," Mello made air quotes around "thing."

"Wait, whenever you see me? So, does that include right now?" The gamer pointed to the ground.

Mello closed his book and tossed his head to the side, considering. "I wouldn't exactly complain." A smirk poked at the corner of his mouth. Leaning a hand against the edge of the top bunk, he swung himself downward and on the floor.

Matt's heart didn't even have time to skip a beat before Mello's lips were on his, hands cupping his face. The slightly shorter redhead tilted his chin up at the blond. _It's so right,_ was the only thought going through Matt's mind.

With a loud _smack_, Mello pulled back. Matt sighed dreamily. "That'll never get old."

"Damn, you're adorable."

"Is that why you like me so much?"

Mello grinned and rolled his eyes. "Part of it." He went to sit down in the blue recliner below their window.

"And the other part is…?" Matt prompted, hopping up on the nightstand beside him.

The blond tilted his head as if he were thinking. His hair swung with the angle of his head, and Matt could scarcely hold in a swoon. _It's—so—pretty! _He snapped back to attention when Mello said, "Well, you're third ranking here without even trying, so you've gotta be smart. You can hack through the CIA with barely a hitch. Hm," he thought for a minute before rattling off quickly, "You're funny; you're just a bit shorter than me; you can always manage to make me grin whenever I want to pound that little sheep into the ground; you can make some of the _most insane_ things out of duct tape—" Matt beamed and played with his duct tape bracelet, "—even though you're a ginger, you're not an asshole; you don't watch any of those idiotic TV shows like Finch, and you can down an Arnold Palmer in six seconds, which is admittedly impressive." He took a breath.

That warm fuzzy feeling flooded Matt's stomach. "Heehee," He chuckled to himself before replying with the voice of a teenage girl staring at pictures of hot guys—or reading yaoi, you get the point—"I like Arnold Palmers."

"Y tú?"

"Huh?"

"Come on, Matt, you've been in Spanish classes for four years now. And you? What do you find even remotely admirable in me?" He turned sideways in the chair to face him and pointed to himself.

"Oh, oh. Um." The gamer thought for a moment and played with the strap of his goggles. "Well, your hair's really fluffy. It's just—gah, I can't stand it!" He reached out and ran a hand through Mello's hair before he pulled away. He cleared his throat, "Anyway. I like the fact that you show emotion. Near's more than a little creepy because he doesn't. I like being able to calm you down like that; your little jabs at my ginger-ness don't affect me in the least; it's pretty fun to have those light-hearted arguments with you—I really can't believe how soft your hair is—I like making people smile, and I'm just gonna put this out there: you're smile's just plain _hot. _Even Linda thinks so." _Greaaaat,_ Mello thought. "And I like the actually kind of intellectual and deep-ish conversations we can have, particularly at night. Though sometimes I'm not quite sure if you're awake or not…" He flashed a bright smile and wrung his hands together.

Mello hummed. He tried not to grin but gave in and showed Matt a prime example of his smile that is "just plain _hot."_ Matt giggled to himself in his head. "I do remember some of those conversations. If they really happen that often, then yep, I was asleep—wait, I talk in my sleep?" He asked abruptly.

"Uh, yeah. I thought you would have known that by now." Matt looked at him and raised an eyebrow.

"Well I can't exactly consciously listen to myself while I sleep. What have I said?" The blond looked at the redhead critically.

Matt seemed to shrink under his gaze. "Oh, nothing. Just things that we'd talk about when you're actually awake. Nothing embarrassing, I swear."

"You'd better."

"I do, I do." He paused, staring at the blond for a moment. "Can I touch your hair again?"

Mello gave and exaggerated and loud sigh. He drew a breath, "No." He stood and strode across the room, scooped up a couple books and an overflowing folder and notebook combo, and headed to the door. Matt ran after him, "Not even a little, Mels?"

He grinned, pecked him on the lips, and ran out the door. Matt's hand fell as the soft, blond reward was pulled from his grasp.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: **This chapter's short and sweet. Slimy yet satisfying, if you will. It depends on your definition of slimy. I've got a couple future chapters done today, but I'm sad to say you won't see them for a while. I'm actually going to have something resembling plot in here sometime soon! Don't worry, I'll warn you when that happens, but in the meantime, enjoy random fluffy junk. :D

X

_Bang!_ "Ow!"

Bumps and rustles came from the closet of Mello's bedroom as he returned from his classes that day. He immediately stared down the slightly open sliding door. "What are you doing in there?"

"Ah!" Matt started, his hit head on the shelf overhead, and stumbled out of the closet. Once he got his balance back, he quickly held his hands behind his back, a purple shape catching Mello's eyes.

"Mattie, what do you have behind your back?" The blond asked suspiciously.

The gamer's eyes went wide. "Nothing."

"Bull shit. What is it?"

"I told you, I don't have anything!" He showed his hands with a cheeky grin.

Mello stared him down, but he was unwavering. "Okay," He said, walking toward him.

There was sweat on Matt's brow and he stood like a pole as Mello planted one on him. His heart fluttered and he wrapped his arms around his chest. The redhead felt something on the back of his pants and he jumped away with a loud, "No!"

"You should know by now that you can't lie to me without me knowing," Mello said, waving a GameBoy Color through the air.

The gamer jumped at him, trying to reach the older game system. "Come on, bro! Give it!"

Mello had a hand on Matt's forehead and the GameBoy high over his head. "No video games."

"But but but but—"

"No. A bet's a bet."

Matt let out an angry _humph_ and crossed his arms. Mello locked his beloved GameBoy sporting Pokemon Silver in the bottom drawer of his desk, just beside his PS2. Once again, he pocketed the key and sat down at his desk.

A plan hatched in Matt's head. He sat down on his bed and fiddled with a Rubik's cube until all of the colors lined up. That kept him busy for a whole three minutes. "Hey Mels," He whined, inducing himself to shiver. "I'm cold."

"Well you've got three options: put more clothes on, put socks on,—" Matt looked down at his jeans, bare feet, and T-shirt that said, "i2 Keeping it real." Mello continued, "Or get under your blanket you're lounging on."

Matt groaned. "But those require energy!" He turned his head to look at Mello sitting at his desk. "You've got all that body heat; stop being selfish."

The blond turned and looked at him. He begrudgingly stood and Matt eagerly scooted over. Mello settled in next to him, and the redhead cuddled up to him. "You're really warm."

"And you're really cold."

Matt hung an arm over Mello's stomach and looked up at him. He gave a cute, innocent grin that was known by all to be anything but innocent. The chocoholic gazed back at him, and this time Matt was the one to kiss him. He was awkward and admittedly klutzy, but soon, Mello took over and started to caress his lips, and eventually the inside of his mouth, with his tongue. It was a wonder why so few of the girls of Wammy's House were infatuated with the graceful tongue of Mello. _It's because they've never had the pleasure of enjoying it,_ Matt thought, beaming.

The redhead's mind clicked back into ninja mode. He tightened his grip on the blond, and he turned on his side. Mello's arm came over Matt's and they held each other. _Yes, my pretty…_ Matt thought evilly. His hands on Mel's lower back slid downward a little, and he surreptitiously slid his fingers into the blond's back pocket. A hand grabbed his wrist as Mello pulled back. "Nice try, bud. You're not getting at your games any time soon. Five more days."

"Dammit!"


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:** There's not much to say about this chapter. As I said last chapter, I'm actually going to be installing some plot in here sometime soon! As for now, well, you'll just have to read.

**X**

There was a click as the door opened quietly, creaking ever so slightly. Linda and Matt, on either side of said door, held their breath. Matt pulled back the blankets and made eye contact with the brunette as she slowly eased the door shut. The gamer grinned as Linda patted her pocket. He glanced up at the top bunk, where Mello snored away. He put a finger to his lips and she nodded.

Matt hopped over to the dirty laundry pile, where he rifled through discarded clothes. Linda stood behind him, watching over his shoulder. When he picked up a pair of pants, he glanced at her and she nodded. He dug around in the pocket, still slightly warm from their use that day. They found nothing.

"Dammit," Matt swore under his breath. He looked at Linda and raised his hands questioningly. She shrugged and pointed to Mello's desk. Matt turned and started scouring the small tower of three plastic drawers, organized piles of papers, and even the lamp. Linda again, stood behind him, her eyes darting back and forth between each possible hiding place.

"Fake bottom?" Linda suggested, looking at each mini drawer as Matt opened them.

"No, he's more crafty than that," The redhead whispered back.

Linda pointed to the drawers and Matt moved out of the way. She pulled out the bottom one out completely and looked underneath, where the desk showed through the black plastic. Sure enough, there was a silver key lying against the back of the drawer.

Matt picked up the key as Linda dug in her pocket. She opened up an Altoids tin to show a piece of foam. She made an imprint of the key then handed it to Matt, who opened the bottom drawer. The brunette carefully closed the tin and replaced it in her pocket, then took the Play Station from Matt. She wrapped the cords around one hand and watched the sleeping blond as Matt piled on a couple more games and the controllers.

The gamer closed the drawer, holding another few games in his arm. He locked it and replaced the key to its hiding place. He turned Linda toward the door and they crept out, leaving Mello asleep in his bed.

They made it to Linda's room on the other end of the hall. "I feel like we're on an espionage mission," They laughed as they walked into her room. Storm was fast asleep in her bed, and Matt looked at her. "Don't worry, she can sleep through her namesake," the brunette waved away her friend's look.

Linda set the game system down on her desk and glanced at the clock. It was just after midnight. Matt followed her eyes. "How late do you think I could sleep without being late to Chem?"

"What does it matter? You sleep through it anyway," she said, sitting down in her swivel chair.

"Eh, true."

"So, what? We'll set this up tomorrow then you can continue feeding your addiction after classes." Linda suggested, waving to the game console.

Matt smirked and nodded. "And get that imprint to True. A copy of that key might come in handy," He winked. "I'm going to go to bed."

Linda rolled her eyes. "Men and their beauty sleep."

"What? I can't look this gorgeous all the time off two hours of sleep, you know," He gestured to his face, grinning.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Night," She said, spinning around in her chair.

"Night."

X

A certain blond burst through Linda's door. "Shit!" Matt hissed, jumping back onto Storm's bed, where she sat doing homework. She raised an eyebrow at Matt and gathered her papers all together in one pile before the redhead tried to use her as a human shield.

"Um, Matt? Could please let me go?" She asked calmly and politely.

"Hell no! Not till he goes away!"

Mello, without so much as glancing at him, unplugged the Play Station and hauled it away, controllers and all. "I'm adding two days to your sentence."

"Nooooo!" Matt wailed, and Storm covered her ears. Linda watched from her desk, slightly amused. The gamer hopped up, finally letting go of Linda's roommate. He ran after Mello. "Mels, I'm sorry! I won't do it again! Please, just don't make me last any longer!" He drew out the final word. Ignoring him, the blond weaved his way through the hallway and around other students.

Finally, the chase reached their room. Mello threw the PS2 on the top bunk and whipped around. "What did I say? One week. You're so addicted you can't even go that long?"

Matt bumped into his chest and looked at him. "Well, there's nothing else to do around here! Would _you _have gone a week without your chocolate? You'd be worse than Linda when she's PMSing! Eh, _don't_ tell her I said that."

"Don't go through my stuff ever again." His icy blue eyes burrowed their way into Matt's brain.

"I won't; I swear on my life, I won't!"

"That's not enough," Mello pushed the redhead back and pinned him against the closed door. With a devilish look in his crystal eyes, the blond thrust his lips upon Matt's. It was methodical and rhythmic as their tongues danced together blissfully. It was as if someone bumped the needle on a record player when Mello bit down on his roommate's lip.

"Owowowowow," Matt hummed through the kiss, but the blond wouldn't let go until the taste of blood seeped onto his tongue.

Mello licked the puncture thoroughly before pulling back. "That oughta annoy you for a while. Maybe it'll keep your mind off the video games."

"You are a sick, cruel and twisted asshole," Matt pouted at him, peeling himself away from the door.

"Yet you still love me."

He crossed his arms. "Well, yes."

"Then you're just complaining for the sake of complaining, right?" Mello pulled the key from his pocket and dragged the Play Station from his bed, locking it once more in the drawer.

Matt watched as his beloved games disappeared into the dark crypt that was Mello's desk. "It's gonna be a long week."


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: **It took a bit longer than the others, but here's another chapter! I'd just like to reiterate, I do not own Death Note, or any other real life things I may have mentioned. Just the events that happen here at Wammy's House.

X

"Meeellooo," Matt drawled from his position hanging upside down on his bed. "Meeellooo," He said again, trying to get the attention of the diligently studying blond. He waved his hands over his head, fingers brushing the ground.

Finally, Mello pulled out his earbuds and slammed his hands on the desk. He turned to the gamer. "What?"

"I love you," The redhead said cheekily. Mello turned back to his homework. "Wait, wait! Mels!" Again, the blond stared at Matt. "Give me something to do."

"Why don't you do all of that homework that you're _supposed_ to be doing rather than waiting till five A.M. to blast through it?" He suggested, gesturing over his shoulder to where Matt's book bag sat below their coatrack.

Matt groaned. "But that requires _energy!_"

"So does breathing."

The gamer clicked his tongue and glared at the blond. "Give me something _fun_ I can do without having to use my brain."

"Well, I don't think dying requires brain use," Mello shrugged.

"Are you working on psychology?"

"Maybe."

Matt sighed. "You're no help."

"Fine, then." Mello dropped his pencil. "Go get me something to eat from the kitchen."

"Preferably chocolate, I know the drill," The redhead dragged himself to his feet and made his way to the door. He lowered his voice evilly, "I'll be back."

A few minutes later, Matt dropped a Hostess cupcake onto Mello's desk. "Happy?"

"I knew I picked you for a reason." He dug into the package and began to lick the chocolate off the cake. He glanced at Matt, who was still standing there, watching him. He had a bag of popcorn in his hand. "What?"

He snapped out of his trance and shook his head. "Hm? Nothing. I was gonna put on a movie. That's not a video game, right?"

"As long as I've got the remote, go for it."

"You don't want to watch too?"

"Matt, there's a reason I'm so high in the rankings here. I'll be working. At most, I'll listen."

The redhead held his tongue from saying, _"But you're still second._" He knew better than to go cruising for a bruising. "Take a break for me?" He flashed a smile.

Mello sighed and looked at him. "What movie?" He said finally.

It was all Matt could do to _not_ squeal like a little girl. He knelt before the table the television was on and looked through the cases. _Video game, video game, video game—_movie! The first one he came across was a rather beat up edition of Spirited Away. "Ugh, why must you leave your junk in here, Linda?" He tossed it aside and kept looking. At last, he flopped on his back. "I left my Evangelion movies in Linda's room," He groaned.

"Then go get 'em," Mello said, packing up his work. The sun was sinking low in the sky, though it was only five o'clock, and he flipped on the light switch.

"The liiiight!" Matt growled before rolling over. "I don't wanna walk all the way down there. Are you okay with Spirited Away?"

"You're lazy. But sure, I really don't care one way or another."

"Hey, this is a good movie! Don't bash Miyazaki!" Matt said indignantly as he popped the movie into the TV's built-in DVD player.

"Hypocrite."

"Oh, just shut up and enjoy it." He lunged at the light switch, plunging them into darkness as the movie started. Mello skipped through the previews and Spirited Away began. The pair sat on the bottom bunk, where Matt snuggled up beside Mello, who had an arm wrapped around the gamer. He cracked open the bag of fresh popcorn and dug in.

Not ten minutes in, Mello snorted. "Imagine, if she had eaten with her parents, this whole movie just wouldn't have happened."

"You always take the fun out of movies."

"Do not."

"Do too."

"Shut up, the bath house is opening!"

"Since when are you so into movies?"

"Shh!" Mello hissed.

The movie passed, with comments here and there from both of the teens. Matt tossed the empty bag of popcorn on the ground and readjusted himself beside Mello. He looked at the blond, and he turned toward him. Matt kissed him, and soon the movie was long forgotten.

"Matt-Matt—" Linda's innocent voice stopped short as her eyes met the couple on the bed. "Nevermind!" She squeaked and closed the door quickly. The artist pressed her back to the door and pressed a hand to her nose. She came away with a few drops of blood. "Yep, I expected this." She ran off to the nurse's office.

"Did you hear something?" Matt asked, glancing at the door.

Mello shut him up with another open-mouthed kiss. "Nope," he mumbled.

Matt gave no second thought and got lost in Mello's kisses.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N:** Okay, so I kind of turned my conscious brain off for this one, so whatever happens, happens. This chapter is a bit longer than the others, so I hope you enjoy it! I also hope all of you Americans out there enjoyed Turkey Day with all of your friends, family, and loved ones.

X

Saturday. The birds outside chirped in the early morning sunlight and squirrels bustled around in a last effort to store food for the incoming winter. There was laughter from children running around outside as they played football. A quiet aura settled over the orphanage.

"_Why the Hell am I awake?"_ Matt growled to himself, bashing his head against the post of his bed. "It's not even nine! God, what is wrong with me?"

"I think a more accurate question would be: What isn't wrong with you?" Mello nodded, pulling his black, long-sleeve tee over pale abs.

The gamer turned on the blond. "This is _your_ fault. If you hadn't fallen asleep in my bed last night, you wouldn't have woken me up when you got up!" He pointed sharply at Mello, but he just shrugged.

"Actually, you fell asleep on me first, so don't even go there," he said lightly, shaking his head. "What, Mattie can't go without his beauty sleep?"

"As I've told Linda before, I can't be drop-dead gorgeous off of two hours of sleep."

"You slept almost ten hours last night."

"Nobody asked you!" Matt squished his pillow over his head.

Mello raised his eyebrows. "Well, I'm off. Don't spend all day in bed; you'll get fat that way." He swiped his hair over his shoulder, grabbed his bag, and walked out the door, leaving Matt to grumble angrily to himself.

When sleep wouldn't come again, Mattie dragged himself up. He didn't bother changing from the night before and just strolled out the door and down the hall toward Linda's room. He knocked on the door as he opened it. "Coming in."

The door was pushed back in his face. "God Mattie, wait for me to answer!"

"Well maybe I just wanna see you half naked."

"Pig," Linda pulled down her yellow Tee-shirt and whipped the door open again. "I'd have to tell Mello if that were the case."

Matt pouted. "But he'd hurt me!"

"Then _stop_ being a man-whore," She warned and pointed at him intimidatingly. She turned and grabbed her hair brush from her desk, and she glanced at the time. "What are_ you_ doing up so early?"

Matt groaned. "Don't remind me. Mels and I were watching Spirited Away last night and he fell asleep on my bunk. Then he woke me up about a half an hour ago."

Linda ran the brush through her shoulder-length brown hair. She smirked to herself, remembering the previous night.

"Speaking of which!" Matt exclaimed, "I want my Evangelion movies back!"

"Eh, heh heh," She chuckled nervously. "About that. I kind of lent them to Finch."

He growled. "How many times have I told you not to lend out my stuff?"

"Like, twice," Linda deadpanned.

"Still, I told you not to! Whatever," he said dismissively, "at least it wasn't Gary or some other jerk who wouldn't give them back," He grabbed Linda's hand and pulled her out the door. She tossed the hair brush onto her desk as she was whisked out of the room.

The first stop was the dining room. Matt was starving. He looked around to see if he could find Finch, but he wasn't in the crowd. After a pit stop for a bagel, the gamer dragged the artist back through the halls of Wammy's House until they reached Finch's room. With a look from Linda, he knocked and actually listened for a reply. After a bit of shuffling, the door opened, and a bed-headed Gary answered. "What do _you_ want?"

"Ew, gross. Where's Finch?" Matt said, wrinkling his nose at the other teen.

"I don't know, I thought you were supposed to keep track of him?"

Matt chuckled sarcastically before asking again, "Do you know where he put my Evangelion movies?"

"Not a clue," The sandy-haired kid closed the door in his face and returned to bed.

"Asshole," He grumbled and walked away.

"Oh, shit! It's Saturday morning. Finch is out at the stream with his bio class. They're taking samples of the different microbes living at the bottom the stream, I guess," Linda informed Matt as they walked in no particular direction.

"Well you could have told me that earlier!"

"Sorry, I just remembered."

"You're not a very good stalker, you know that?"

Linda just stared at the ground.

Matt finally turned and they headed outside, grabbing their jackets on the way out. Through the wet grass and mud they stomped, until a younger boy from Finch's group spotted them. He alerted the group, and Finch made his way over slippery and loose rocks to talk to them. "Hey Matt. Uh, hi, Linda."

"Hey. I was just wondering if you still had my Evangelion movies. Your asshole of a roommate wouldn't let me look for them," Matt greeted, and furrowed his brow.

"Language, _please,_" The teacher hissed toward them.

Finch ignored her and scoffed. "Yeah, sounds like Gary. Yeah, I've got them. Yeah, one's in the DVD player and the other is in the case below it."

"Finch, look at what I found!" The younger boy waved around a magnifying glass as he called the blond.

"Yeah, I'm coming, Red," He called to the little kid.

"My name is Henry, not Red!" The other redheaded boy of Wammy's House stomped his foot and nearly slipped into the small stream.

Finch snorted and grinned. "Yeah, so I've got to go see what he's yelling about, so I'll talk to you later. Yeah, you can go get those DVDs if you want, just tell Gary I said so."

"Yeah, later!" Matt said as they turned away. "Yeah, I definitely hate Gary." Linda snorted. "What?"

"You just started talking like him."

"What do you mean?"

"You just said, 'yeah' at the beginning of your sentences. I think it's adorable on Finch, but you? Nah," the brunette said dismissively, hooking her arm through his as they picked their way through the edge of the woods.

Matt rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I'm adorable enough as it is. I've got to leave some for the others, you know."

"Conceited much?"

"Nope."

"Aha," Linda said dubiously.

Matt laughed and started to cough. They paused for a moment until the redhead pulled the brunette forward. "You sound awful."

"It's nothing. Hey, is that Mels?" The gamer pointed toward the blond who was in the process of winding up for a goal kick. The soccer ball sailed through the air, though not necessarily toward the goal. It bounced off of another kid's face and he was sent flying onto his backside. Mello grinned to himself before spotting Matt and Linda from the corner of his eye. The kid walked off the field, rubbing his rapidly reddening face.

"Well that wasn't nice," Linda commented as the blond approached.

"Well I'm not exactly a nice person."

"True. Remind me why we hang out with him, again?" The artist looked up at Mattie questioningly.

Matt grinned and glanced around. No one was within earshot. "Because I love him and I'm the only one that'll hang out with _you,_" He playfully elbowed her.

She looked at him with indignation, but Mello cut her off. "Why are you out here, anyway?"

"Oh, I was looking for Finch. His bio class is at the stream," The blond nodded. "What about you?"

"Is it against the law for me to want to play soccer every now and then?"

"Yes."

"Congratulations, you are now in love with a criminal."

"I can deal."

"Hey, Mello! Mr. Morrie wants you to apologize to Luca!" One of the kids called to the chocoholic.

He begrudgingly turned around. "Sorry, Luca," he said, with extra enthusiasm sprinkled on top! His voice was as dull as a four-hundred year old headstone.

"He says he wants you to mean it, too!" The kid yelled.

The teacher walked out onto the field with a rather dumbfounded Luca and waved him over. Mello growled to himself. "I'll see you guys later, I've got to go."

Matt watched him go, raised his eyebrows, and led Linda inside. First stop was back at Finch's room two doors down from Matt's. The gamer didn't even knock on the door; he just crept in, gathered his DVDs, and left, careful not to disturb the slug-bug Gary. Linda waited patiently outside the door, examining her fingernails with her back to the wall.

"Got 'em?"

"Yep."

"Good, now let's go before the dragon wakes up."

"More like a troll," Matt commented, opening his door. Linda snickered. The gamer popped the first movie in and the two spent the morning playing card games while half watching, half listening to You Are (Not) Alone.

They took a break for lunch and were back in the room. The second flick went on and they played another set of card games, until Linda grew bored.

She flopped—face first—into Matt's pillow. He sat on his bed with his back against the wall, and her legs landed directly over his feet. Matt couldn't resist running his fingers down the backside of her kneecap. The brunette spazzed and squealed at the same time and the forces combined made her roll sideways off the bed and onto the floor, bumping her head on the night table on the way down.

Matt burst out into laughter and hung his head over the edge of the bed. "Are you okay?" He said through his laughter.

Linda rolled over and glared up at him. Matt's eyes flashed wide and he helped her sit up. "God, Linda, I'm sorry."

"What are you talking about? I'm fine," She laughed, but then the redhead put a hand to her forehead and came back with blood. She saw it. "Oh, shit."

...

The nurse bustled around, arranging for an ice pack and a towel to be pressed to Linda's forehead. "Alright, which one of you are going to tell me what happened?"

Linda looked pointedly at Matt and he looked to the floor. "I tickled her and she fell off the bed and hit her head on my night table," He mumbled.

"And what was she doing on your bed in the first place?"

"We were playing cards and watching Evangelion. It was just a joke, I didn't intend for her to crack her head open," He reasoned.

Linda rolled her eyes. "Very nice way to put it, thanks."

"You're welcome."

"Well," the nurse started, "I don't think you'll need stitches or anything. A butterfly should keep it in place. Just don't be horsing around anymore, okay?"

"Okay," They both grumbled in unison.

As soon as Linda was all patched up, they returned to Matt's room. Mello had come in while they were gone, and he turned as they walked in. "Hey—oh, what happened to you?"

"Charmed to see you as well. This one pushed me of the bed," Linda jammed a thumb at Matt.

"Ah, no," He corrected her, "You _fell_ off. I just tickled you."

"Yeah, whatever, same thing."

"Well then. Mattie, what have I told you about being rough?" He mockingly asked him.

Without missing a beat, Matt replied easily, "That you love it and it turns you on."

Linda burst in to laughter and sat down in the car below the window. Mello blushed profusely and turned back to his book in a huff. Matt joined in with Linda's laughter and rolled onto his bed. The blond growled to himself, "Only when we're alone, damn it."


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: **Back to school in the morning. Vacation just doesn't last long enough. Here's another chapter to start out the week! I'd also like to thank my reviewers, 494dwangel, my bestie inuyasha9lover, and one anonymous reviewer. You all keep me writing. I love knowing that people actually read my junk, so thank you!

**X**

Matt was hacking up a storm. Mello was out at Sunday morning Mass and Linda sat on the floor beside the gamer's bed. "I told you that you were getting sick."

"Oh, shut up," Matt grumbled. "I feel horrible enough as it is."

Linda grabbed his hand. "Aw, poor Matt-Matt."

The redhead paused. "My stomach's making funny noises again."

The brunette leaned forward and pressed an ear to the blankets where Matt's stomach was. Sure enough, there was an odd gurgle. "Yeah, stomachs tend to do that, hon," She said as she leaned back.

"Look at us," Matt snorted. "I'm sick and you've got a hole in your head. We're just a medical mess," He ran a finger over the bandage on her forehead and she winced.

"Yeah, don't do that," she said, pulling just out of his reach.

His hand dropped. "Sorry."

"It's okay."

"God, I'm cold." Matt shivered and sunk even further beneath the covers.

Linda rubbed her hands together. "Can't help you with that, sorry. I'm cold-blooded."

"Just because you have poor circulation in your hands and feet doesn't mean you're cold-blooded. But then again, the lack of soul may have something to do with that," Matt said from beneath the thick green comforter.

"Says the ginger."

"I resent that."

"I bet you do."

"Ugh," Matt brought his head back over the blanket for air. He held his stomach and groaned. He whipped back the covers. "I'm gonna be sick."

Linda jumped backward and into the chair as Matt lunged across the room for the trash can beside Mello's desk. When the gamer finished emptying his stomach, he wiped his mouth with a tissue and spit into the trash can.

The brunette clapped her hands together. "Well, as much as I love you, I'm outta here."

"Chicken," Matt hiccupped and crawled back into bed, dragging the can closer to the bed.

"I can live with that." Linda dashed out the door with a smile and a wave.

Not long later, Mello walked in. He wrinkled his nose as he dropped hung up his rosary on the wall above his desk. "Aw, really? You had to use my trash can?"

Matt blinked his eyes open and peeked at the blond from beneath the covers. "It was that or the floor, sorry."

"Have you called the nurse?"

"…No."

"I'll be back."

Mello shook his head and walked out the door, ignoring Matt's frantic, "No! She scares me!"

A moment later, the blond returned, the nurse in tow. She shook her head. "I swear. You are my most frequent patient, Matt."

"I can't help that I'm accident-prone," He pouted.

She took Mello's chair and sat beside him. After a brief check-up, she sat back. "Well?" Matt asked impatiently.

"You're sick."

"No?" He breathed sarcastically.

"I'm just kidding. You've probably just got the twenty-four hour bug that's been going around. Stay in bed, drink a lot," she turned to Mello, who was leaning against the end of the bunks, arms crossed, "And both of you wash your hands; we don't need everybody else getting sick. You know the drill." She took the trash can and left a plastic shopping bag for Matt and returned to her office.

Mello snorted under his breath. "I still don't see why Ms. Roseweed scares you so much."

Matt tugged the blanket over his head again. "She gave me a shot when I stepped on that tin can lid in the stream this summer."

"That was a tetanus shot, Matt. Did you really want to get lockjaw or something?" Mello shook his head and raised an eyebrow at his roommate.

"Well, no. I just don't like shots, okay?" He shivered under the covers. "I'm still cold as Hell."

"And _that_ would be an oxymoron."

"Your face is an oxymoron."

"Again with the immaturity, here." Mello stood and pulled the comforter off of his top bunk. He spread the blanket out over Matt and tucked him in. He stepped back. "Better?"

"It'd be better if you were under here," Matt said, showing off his innocent puppy-dog eyes.

Mello exhaled. "As much as you know I'd love to, no can do. I'm not getting sick."

"Germaphobe."

"The correct term would be mysophobic, and I am not, thank you." He sat down in the chair below the window and turned sideways so he could see Matt.

"Whatever, you nerd."

Soon afterward, Matt fell asleep. Mello stayed beside him, reading _Great Expectations. _Once, Linda poked her head in to check on the gamer, but the blond put a finger to his lips and signed to her that he was sleeping. She retreated into the hallway, leaving the two alone.

Mello finally finished his book and placed it on the night table. He looked over at Matt, who was snoring away peacefully. For a while, he watched him. He watched the rhythmic rise and fall of his chest and shivers that ran down his spine. He smiled at the way his lips were slightly parted because of his stuffed nose. He grinned to himself.

_Ah, fuck getting sick._ Mello leaned over and crawled under the covers beside his roommate. He left a kiss on his cheek as Matt cuddled close to the blond. Soon enough, he stopped shivering, and Mello smiled.

... 

Matt pressed a cold, damp cloth to Mello's forehead. "This is your fault," the blond accused sourly.

"I think it's your own fault."

"You're the one who got sick in the first place."

"But you're the one that decided to kiss me."

"But you're the one who's too adorable for your own good."

"It's a gift and a curse," Matt said playfully and stood up. "As much as I'd like to sit here with you all day, my coding class is gonna start soon. You know that's the only one I actually kind of _like,"_ He picked up his book bag and paused at the door. "Enjoy the rest of your afternoon!"

Mello shivered as he hissed after the redhead, "F-Fuck you."


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: **Just a warning ahead of time: there's a lot more swearing than normal in this chapter. Yep, you guessed it! Mattie's got his video games back! Woot! I would also like to warn you that an actual plot will be here soon, in a possibility of up to two chapters from now. Oh, are you in for a ride! I hope y'all stick around long enough to read it. Thank you for reading, and be sure to review!

**X**

Thursday couldn't come quick enough for Matt. It was the day that the gamer regained his PS2, GameCube, and GameBoy. He nearly melted as he caressed his game consoles. "Oh, my pretties, how I've missed you. It's been far too long."

"Matt, I think you're addicted," Mello said plainly, watching as the PS2 was the first to be hooked up.

He scoffed. "Am not. Now come play Dynasty Warriors with me."

The blond looked at his roommate. He looked up at him from the floor expectantly. He hummed and gave in, "Okay."

….

"Mels, you're going the wrong way."

"What? No I'm not; I'm actually doing pretty good!"

"That's my screen."

Mello roared, "What the _fucking hell_ do you mean _that's your screen?_ I thought I was Toad!"

Matt snorted as he skidded around a corner, lapping Mello's struggling Boo. "Mario Kart is not your forte."

Boo and Koopa finally managed to turn their kart around and began to drive in the right direction. "Yeah, well video games in general are not my forte."

"Very true."

Toad and Yoshi bounced up and down in the kart as they zoomed into first place. Downbeat music played as Boo and Koopa banged their heads against the steering wheel and punched the side of the car. Mello dropped the controller in front of him and scooted back to lean against the bed frame. "Can we play Guitar Hero now?"

It was well known to both of them that Guitar Hero was the one game that Mello even stood a chance in, and only because he knew how to play the piano. "Bring it." The GameCube was exchanged for the Play Station once more and the guitars were dug out of the closet. "Let's do this thing."

Though he only had the game for barely a month, Matt was complete and utter beast. They looked at each other and it was silently agreed: Through the Fire and the Flames. Mello had his game face on as he selected the _hard_ difficulty.

"Oh, getting a little cocky?"

"We'll see."

Matt too chose the hard level, looking briefly at expert. Not even the great Buddha of video games himself would even _dare_ attempt such a song on expert. The pair reflected each other, with Matt on lefty mode. They stretched their fingers and took a steadying breath.

The song began to play. Their fingers flew over the colored buttons in a blur as they strummed like Hell with the other hand. Sweat glistened on their foreheads as they stiffly battled each other in the ultimate test of skill. For seven straight minutes, they sat, eyes glued to the screen, and hands just begging for carpal tunnel syndrome.

When the speed-demon worthy notes finally came to a sharp _dun_ end, they sighed and tried to regain their breath. They watched eagerly as the scores were calculated to see who came out on top.

"YES!"

"FUCKING HELL."

Mello threw the guitar into the chair and clenched his fists while Matt rolled around on the floor, basking in victory. "This is why I don't play fucking video games," The blond growled as he plopped himself down angrily in his swivel chair.

Matt came up behind him and slung his arms around his neck. He laughed hysterically, breathing into his ear. "But Mello! Look! You got _one percent_ lower than me, and only missed me by forty-two points! That's fucking _amazing!_"

"I still came in second, as usual, piece of shit game."

"Aw, Mels, don't be that way! You definitely have the skills to beat me," He pressed his nose into the crook of his neck. "Just, not today."

Matt yelled as he was tossed over the blond's shoulder and onto the bed. He landed head first in the crack between the bed and the wall. He turned himself over and laid diagonally across the mattress. "That was _intense._"

In the hallway, the jumpy assistant teacher Adrian dropped his clipboard at the scream and his papers were strewn everywhere. He hurriedly gathered them up and looked nervously to the door just a few paces back that it had come from. When he heard, "That was _intense," _he simply scurried away, sure that whichever student made that ungodly noise was okay if they could still speak.

That, and confrontation was involved.


	11. Chapter 11

Matt was button-mashing away at Soul Caliber. He had the volume off as Mello studied, and the room was silent aside from his pressing of the buttons. As he won another battle, the gamer set the controller down and cracked his knuckles as he exhaled.

There was a loud, sudden scratching by the window and Matt jolted, probably gaining a bit of air. Mello put his pen down and spun in his chair. "What the hell was that?"

"I don't know," Matt jumped to his feet and stared at the window. He pulled back the curtains slowly, afraid to find some psychotic murderer with a chainsaw pressed up against the glass. Big, pale green eyes stared back at him over a soft pink nose. "_Kitty!" _It meowed and pawed at the window.

"Are you freaking kidding me?" Mello stood up and watched as Matt excitedly reached to unlock the window and let it in. "Don't do that, damn it! Do you want me to _die_ or something?"

"Oh, calm down. You get hives and sneeze," The redhead said dismissively as the feline watched the window frame slid upward. It stepped in place, its tail wagging to keep its balance on the windowsill. He reached out and let it sniff his hand, and it brushed up against him. "Aw, you are so _cute!_ And you like me!"

Mello scowled at the cat. "And it's even a ginger, just like you," Matt smiled and picked it up. "Matt, seriously, if you don't put that thing outside I might just kick it out of your hands." He took a step back.

"Aw, come on, Mels! How can you not like those big, cute, and innocent eyes?" He held the cat up and it purred and pushed its head into Matt's chest. He couldn't help but squeal. "Oh c'mon, can I keep him?"

"_No._"

"I'm gonna go ask Roger."

"God, get that thing _away _from me!"

Matt tucked an arm under the feline and toted it all the way across the orphanage and into Roger's office. When he looked up, he plopped the cat down on his desk.

"Matt, what is this?" He asked calmly.

"A cat."

"I can see that. Where did you get it?"

"He—" He lifted up its tail. "Uh, _she_ jumped up on my window and scared me to death. But now she's adorable!" He beamed as it turned around and rubbed up against Matt's shirt. "So, can I keep her?"

Roger put a hand to his forehead. "No, Matt. You know very well that we've several students who are allergic, _including_ your roommate."

"But I can't just leave her out there!" He waved out the window, where it was starting to snow. "Look, it's _snowing._ She'll just freeze to death."

"Then we'll give her to a shelter."

"_No!_" He said, vehemently. "If no one adopts her within two weeks they'll euthanize her! It's almost worse than leaving her in the cold!" He put a protective hand on her icy ears. "We can get hypoallergenic shampoo—whatever it takes! Ginger's just too cute to let her die!"

The Wammy's House caretaker sighed. He didn't get paid enough for this job. "Matt. We have a turtle. We have some fish. We are _not_ going to up the costs of pets by keeping a _cat._ Besides, this _Ginger_ probably already has a home if she's been out this long."

"But—"

"No," Roger said with a sense of finality. "I do wonder why she's taking such a liking to you, though."

"Maybe it's 'cause I'm nice and am willing to give her a warm place to live!"

"Do you happen to have any catnip on you?"

"Oh yeah, let me just pull it out of my butt pocket," Matt said sarcastically.

"It was a simple question."

"A stupid one, too."

Ginger looked up at Matt and meowed. She turned around on the desk and plopped down right on top of Roger's paperwork. She promptly began to lick herself. "See? She's already getting comfy."

"No."

"At least tonight? Please?"

"How many times do I have to say no?"

"As many times as it'll take you to say yes."

"No. If she's as attracted to you as she seems, she'll spend the night outside and still be around in the morning. If she is, you can take her to the shelter. If not, then the problem's solved."

"You are heartless." Still, he picked up the cat and held her protectively against his chest. She sniffed his neck and licked the bottom of his chin. He giggled. "Ginger, stop that!" She stopped. "See?" He boasted to Roger, "She's smart, too. And you want to throw her outside."

"And you _will_ put her outside."

Matt let out a humph. "If she's not still here in the morning, I will hate you."

Roger ignored his last statement, and the redhead dashed out the door. He slipped out the back door in the sitting room and placed Ginger on the ground beside a large hedge. "Now, Ginger. You stay close to the house, okay? Here," He pulled off his sweatshirt and set it in the ground within one of the hedges. She sniffed it and pawed around on it before sitting down. "Good kitty," He looked up to the sun that was low on the horizon. "I'll see you in the morning, right?"

"Meow!"

"Good girl!"

…

It was the third day that Matt had been sneaking scraps of his foot out to Ginger.

Mello sneezed. "Fuck Matt, are you still playing charity with that _cat_?" He spat out the word as if it tasted horribly. Well, the fur did, at least.

"I'm not _playing_ anything. I am simply being a humane person and helping out a feline in need," He reasoned, waving his finger importantly.

"I don't care how you think about it. I'm not gonna kiss you until you get rid of that cat, and for _good._" Mello threatened, narrowing his eyes.

Matt looked at him with horror slapped on his face. "You wouldn't do that to me!"

"I would."

"Nuh-uh."

"Uh-huh."

The gamer threw himself at the blond and he turned his head away. "Nope. These lips are going nowhere near you." Mello shook him off and grabbed his backpack. "I'm studying in the library now. You've got cat fur all over you."

"I can't help that she sheds! Don't do this to meeee!" He drew the word out dramatically until the door was slammed on him. Matt slumped on the floor. "Damn you, Mels."

…

The next day, in Trigonometry, Matt was sitting there working on some long, drawn out problem, and Mello was sitting beside him, already done. Out of nowhere, Matt's nose twitched and he looked at the blond. "Why do you smell like cotton candy?" He whispered.

He held up a stick of blue ChapStick and reapplied it, holding eye contact with a smirk. He rubbed his lips together sensually and made a popping noise.

"Where the Hell did you get cotton candy ChapStick?"

"Linda."

"Of course you would."

The blond flashed a teasing smile and turned back around to start on the extra credit problem.

"You are cruel, do you know that?"

Mello hummed. "Mmhm."

…

Matt walked in from his coding class. Mello was sitting at his desk with a fresh chocolate-chip cookie. He took a bite, purposely making a show out of licking some melted chocolate off his lip. "Oh, hi."

"Oh, hi, to you too, asshole."

"Whoa, why are we so grumpy today?"

"Because you are torturous."

"Stop feeding that cat and I don't have to be."

"Not a chance."

"Okay," Mello shrugged and picked up his bag. "It's your choice," and he walked out the door.

Rather than going to the library to study as he normally would, he was having fun torturing his roommate. He stopped at Linda's art class and beckoned the brunette into the hallway. After a quick explanation of his plan, Linda hissed an excited, "Let's do it!"

They walked back in the boys' room together. Matt was perched on the chair, petting Ginger on the windowsill. He turned around, saw Mello, and nudged her away. She got the hint, and with a purr, she jumped down and out of sight.

"Still fraternizing with that feline, eh?" He licked his lips and Matt just about melted with want. He scratched his arm beneath long, black sleeves. Stupid allergies.

Mello shrugged and took a pudding cup from his desk. Matt whined out loud as he took a big, messy mouthful of it, leaving a big glop on his lip. "Mm, this is good," He said though it.

Matt stood up and stared at him lustfully. Linda looked up at Mello. "Hey Mels, I think you've got a bit of chocolate on your face."

"Ah, damn! Where? Could you get it for me?"

"Sure thing."

She stretched to her tiptoes and slowly licked the chocolate off of his bottom lip. She giggled and kissed him before dropping back to flat feet. Matt stood there, stunned, with a look of pure horror on his face. "You—you people suck! Fine, I'll stop feeding the fucking cat!"

Mello didn't even have time to claim victory before he launched himself at the blond and crushed his lips against Mello's. He laughed the whole time. With a kiss, he held some space between them for a moment as he said, "I love you. So much. It's so easy to get you all flustered."

"I'm suffering from Mello's lips withdrawal. It's been a whole twenty-six hours. And you're a fucking tease." He closed his argument with another full-on kiss, French style.

Linda threw her head back and laughed, too. "You guys are too much! Well, you two kiddies have fun; I've got a bit of work to do."

The pair didn't even hear her as she walked out.

…

"Matt! I've got good news for you," Roger said with as much excitement as the old man could muster. "That cat you had your eyes on belonged to somebody. They were visiting relatives in Winchester and she got out. Animal control has already found her and given her back to her owners."

"Are you serious?"Matt asked excitedly. "That _is_ good news for once!"

Roger ignored his insinuation that he is the bearer of bad news and continued, "It's miraculous the resemblance between you and their youngest son. It looks as if you two could be twins, although he is a year older than you."

"Well that explains why she liked me so much."

"Indeed it does. Oh, and one more thing," Mr. Ruvie said, pulling an envelope from his pocket, "They had offered her a reward for her safe return. When they discovered you had fed her for the last week, even if it was behind my back, they insisted that the reward go to you."

Matt beamed. "Sweet! How much is it?"

"Fifty dollars, I believe. There's also a thank-you note."

_Fuck yeah! _"I love karma."

**A/N: **Okay, the story behind this chapter is as follows: I asked my dear friend Kayla what kind of adorable things I could possibly have Matt and Mello do. She replied with, "A kitty." Rather than take this the wrong way, my other friend Bethany helped me develop this story line. :D There you have it!


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: **Oh my goodness, homework up the wazoo. Anywho, here's another chapter! Enjoy. :)

X

"Hey Mattie," Linda called in a singsong-y voice as she skipped into his room.

"I feel like you're gonna ask me something either awkward or annoying."

"And you are right!" She sat down on the chair below the window, watching briefly as he slashed through a guard in his video game. "I was wondering if you were planning on coming out to the whole orphanage and not just me."

"Hell no," He answered quickly.

"Why not?"

"I'm sure as hell not getting my room changed, or being sent somewhere else. What Roger doesn't know won't kill him. Why do you want to know, anyway?"

"I was just wondering. Y'know, your room's not soundproof, just F.Y.I."

Matt groaned. "God, really? Who heard anything?"

"Oh, no one. Well, just me. But as I said earlier, I don't count," She said, chewing on a piece of gum. She blew a bubble and popped it. "Just be careful if you don't want to be outed." She stood and walked to the door. She spun on her heel, "I've got a project to do. My art class is going to be drawing portraits of everyone here. I got Mello and Near. Lucky me, eh?"

"Have a blast," Matt droned, eyes still glued to the television.

"That I will. I just thought I'd let you know, though; Sage got you," She ducked out of the room before Matt could say any more.

…

"Um, okay, you can just stay there," The sole female redhead of Wammy's said.

"Sure thing," Matt replied. _This is incredibly uncomfortable. I can't believe she likes _me_, of all people._

Sage began to draw, her eyes darting between the piece of nice drawing paper held in place on the easel and her subject. Matt shifted his weight and the chair tipped to the side. One of the legs was longer than the others. He kept himself busy by making some beat out of the taps on the linoleum floor.

"Could you stop? Not only is that extremely annoying but you keep moving," Sage asked, a bit irritated. "I mean, any other time I wouldn't care, but it's just distracting."

Matt slumped on the stool, but sat up again as he looked at Sage, this time keeping his feet still. The chair slipped and tapped the floor, eliciting a glare from the other redhead. "Sorry, it fell."

"Mhm," She mumbled disbelievingly, making another mark on the paper.

"What? It did!"

"I believe you," She said innocently.

"Really? I don't think you do."

"Trust me, Matt. I do," Sage looked at him and raised an eyebrow.

He shrunk in his seat. "Okay."

Again, the artist resumed sketching the gamer's face. He stared ahead, his mind wandering to other things—and other people. When Mello's face popped up, he smiled. He imagined Linda yelling at him to sit still and asking him, "Do you have ants in your pants or something?" while she tried to draw him, and him yelling back, "Just shut up and draw me!" _But _not_ like one of your French girls,_ Matt quipped in his head with a grin.

His smile faded when Sage knocked an eraser off the easel. She picked it up and looked at him. "Hey, keep grinning!" Matt's eyes darted around the room unsurely, but nonetheless he smirked again. "Thank you. It looks good."

After another half an hour of staring off into space with a silly grin on his face, Matt just about melted with relief when Sage said, "Well, looks like I can be done with you," She said, examining her drawing.

"Oh, lemme see, lemme see!" He hopped up and looked at the paper. "Whoa, that's me."

"I was aiming for that."

"You hit your target alright."

Sage tugged the paper off and slid it into a folder and into a cubby hole against the wall. "Linda's a lot better. She was just in here last with Near and Mello. It must have blown over well; I don't see anything broken," She said as she looked around the art room.

"Well then. I'm going to go find them, then."

"Thanks for posing for me!" Sage called as he darted out the door.

Matt made his way back to his room. He walked in and sure enough, Mello was studying. Linda was nowhere to be found. "Hey Mels."

"Hey Matt."

"What'cha up to?"

"Studying, like you should be. Did you just get your portrait done?"

"Yep. Sage still creeps me out, the way she stares at me," He shuddered. "How was your portrait with Linda? I hear she got doubles and Near had to go, too. Did you break anything?"

He clicked his tongue. "I wish. No, I managed to restrain myself. Roger was in there, probably for that reason," The blond grumbled and made a mark in his notes.

"I'm impressed," He walked up behind Mello and pressed his nose into his hair. He kissed the back of his neck. "I still love your hair." He closed his eyes and inhaled.

Mello spun around and planted one on Matt. "Oh!" Matt said, pulling away for a moment. "Apparently," He began, lowering his voice, "Linda could hear us from out in the hall. So, as she put it, 'Be quiet unless you want to be outed."

"So? Let them hear us, I don't care," He scoffed and kissed him again.

"Yeah, but it could get back to Roger. You know the whole couple thing doesn't fly with him."

"Roger can go suck a cactus."

Matt giggled as the blond kissed his neck. "I love you."


	13. Chapter 13

"Mmm."

The smack of a kiss could be heard from the hallway.

_Holy,_ _did Matt finally hook up with Linda? Lucky bastard. _Gary scowled and kept walking down the hall. As he walked by the art class, he peered in to see if Sage was around. She was sitting one of the tall wooden tables, laughing. Linda and the art teacher, Mrs. Gaudet, leaned against the opposite table. Linda said something in French, and Gary suddenly wished he hadn't chosen Russian over the romance language.

_Wait, _Linda? _Then who…?_ He turned around and strolled purposefully back to room number 42, where Matt and Mello resided. He slammed open the door, only to find Mello aligning his pencils in his large binder before sliding it into his bag. The rest of the room was empty.

"What the Hell do you want?" Mello snapped at him. "Ever heard of fucking knocking?"

"Where's Matt?"

He looked at the digital clock on the night table. "Probably eating like any other normal person. As you can tell, I'm not normal," He said snidely.

Gary gave him a suspicious look and Mello just raised an eyebrow. "Okay," he said doubtfully and turned to stroll down the hall, leaving the door wide open.

"You could at least close the door, asshole!" Mello shouted after him and slammed the door shut again.

…

"Okay, spill."

Matt glanced at the sandy-haired kid as he pulled up a chair beside the lunch table. "Spill what?" He took a bite of his meatball sub.

"Is Mello dating anyone?"

The gamer snorted and nearly choked on the bread and meat in his mouth. He swallowed hard and laughed. "What makes you think that? The guy's nearly as antisocial as Near," He mumbled, nodding to the albino sitting alone a few tables over.

"Then are you?"

"Nope. I repeat: why?"

Gary's eye narrowed. "No reason," he said lightly, throwing his head to the side. He glanced at Matt's almost full sandwich; there was only one bite taken out, so he couldn't have been there long. "So what have you been doing all day?"

"Since when do you care?"

"I was just wondering."

Matt examined him. "Video games. Honestly, what else do I get to do around here?"

Gary hummed to himself and thought for a moment. "Matt, are you gay?" He asked bluntly.

"Hell, no! Are you high or something?" Matt said, feigning incredulously.

"Well, you hang around with Linda so much—"

"You know we're best friends. And _no,_" Matt said, reading the next question forming in his mind, "You cannot and will not hook up with her. _Especially_ while I'm around."

"Well if you're 'just friends'" He jabbed the air with two fingers, "Then why can't I?"

"It's _because _we're friends you're not getting anywhere near her. An asshole like you wouldn't do anything for her but hurt her. Why don't you go play in traffic or something?" Matt scowled and took another bite of his sub.

Gary stood. "Whatever. Next time you go kissing your roommate, though, do it someplace I can't hear."

Matt's heart jumped, but he managed to keep a calm exterior. He rolled his eyes as Gary walked away. "I think you've got the wrong person there, Gar." But he was already gone.

…

There were whispers as Mello walked into the cafeteria the next day.

"Fag," someone yelled out from another table.

Roger, striding by, pointed at the offending party. "Detention," he said with a stern look on his face. He followed the blond into the lunch line. "Mello," he called. "Bring your lunch to my office."

"Why?" Mello turned around, catching a glance of Roger as he moved back into the dining area.

…

Matt walked into Roger's office and stopped when he saw his roommate. "You too?"

"Yeah." Mello grumbled as he took a spoonful of tomato soup in his mouth. "Do you have any idea what this is about?"

"Thanks for coming, gentlemen," Roger closed the door and pulled up another chair to the table in the office. "I'm just going to dive right in. There has been a rumor spreading like wildfire among the older children. I can all but assume that you know which one of these I am talking about."

Matt set down his garlic bread, suddenly losing his appetite. Mello put on his stony expression and asked evenly, "And which one would this be?"

"There seems to be a common belief that you two are of the abnormal sexual preference, to put it softly."

"So people think we're gay?" Mello asked incredulously.

Roger drew a breath and nodded, "In so many words, yes. I have heard certain individuals speaking of instances that may or may not suggest that this is true. I'd just like to hear it from you if it is or not."

The two stopped and looked at each other. Matt gave a small wave, prompting Mello to speak. The blond asked slowly, "I'm just curious, what would happen if the answer is yes?"

Roger sat back in the chair. "Well, the worst that would happen is that one of you would get your room switched, for the most obvious reasons." He looked between the boys. "I presume it is, then? There's nothing wrong with it, if that's what your worried about. We accept anyone for who they are, and encourage them to be so."

This time, Mello nodded to Matt and he nodded. "Okay, yeah, it's true."

"Thank you." The Wammy's caretaker exhaled. "So. Which of you are willing to move to a new room?"

Mello crossed his arms and looked at Matt. With a sigh, the redhead conceded. "I am. I haven't been here as long and I don't have as much stuff."

Roger observed him. "Very well. Mello, you will be moved to room 48 tomorrow afternoon."

"What?" The blond clapped his hands down on the table, and nearly knocked over his milk.

"Matt was willing to volunteer, so I am changing _your _room." The old man looked to the gamer. "Thank you for offering, Matt, but I know as well as you do how many video games you own."

Mello was still enraged. "But I've got my desk and all of _my_ junk! He's willing to move, why don't you just make _him?_"

Mr. Ruvie looked at Mello sternly. "You will be moved tomorrow, and that's final. I don't want to hear any more about this, Mello."

The blond sat back roughly. "Fine." He slurped down the rest of his soup and rose from the table. He left the room in a huff, slamming the door behind him.

"He'll get over it. We all know how emotional he is," Matt waved him off and took the last bite of his bread, until he too stood.

"Thank you for handling this so maturely, Matt. I truly appreciate it. I also must ask you to, uh, keep your hands to yourself, if you know what I mean," Roger held his hand out.

Matt shook his hand. "Yeah, I get it. Don't worry, we're not like _that._ You're welcome, Ruvie." He left the room, shutting the door with a quiet click rather than the loud bang Mello had left with. _This ought to be an interesting next couple of days._

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **Hey all! Sorry this chapter took so long; apparently, the last couple of weeks before Christmas are a favorite time for teachers to load up on schoolwork. It's okay, though; I've got the next couple of chapters already written, so you won't have to wait as long. ;) Thanks to 494dwangel for the inspiration for this chapter!

Also, happy belated birthday to Mello! If you want to read a special fic specifically for his big day, go read my _Nationwide Blisterfeld!_


	14. Chapter 14

"This is fucking nuts. Why the Hell do we even need to change rooms?" Mello grumbled to himself, sending his bag into the wall with a quick underhand toss. It slammed into the wall, eliciting an annoyed bump back from the occupants of the room next to them. "It's not like we're in here fucking or something! Even if we _were,_ we're not gonna get pregnant or something. _Bloody Hell!_"

Matt walked in behind him, catching the door and saving it from the same fate as the backpack. "Hey, I'm not too happy about it either. But you of all people should be able to see why," The redhead tried to convince the blond and ease his nerves. "I mean, look at it this way: If _Near_ were gay, you wouldn't want to hear him and Ivan making out every time you passed their door."

Mello snorted, metaphorical steam still streaming from his ears as he flopped into his chair. "Yeah, but there's a difference between us and them."

"And that difference is…?"

"We're actually attractive."

Matt laughed and sat down on his lap, playing with Mello's blond hair. "True that." Mello caught his wrist and stopped the stroking of his hair as he received a kiss from his gamer.

The redhead was pushed off Mello's lap as he stood up and looked around. "I'm going to miss this room."

"God, Mels, it's not like you're _dying_ or something. I guarantee you; you'll spend about as much time in here from now on as you ever have. I mean, look at Linda. She doesn't live in here, but she might as well; she's in here so much," Matt ran a hand across the floor as he spoke, sweeping a small pile of dust under the recliner. "You'll just be sleeping down the hall."

The blond sat down at his desk. "Yeah, I guess so. I just hope you don't get another roommate after I'm out of here."

"That would just suck."

"Indeed."

The pair sat in silence for a moment. They enjoyed the knowledge of each other's company, without being marred by studying or games. They were absorbed into their own thoughts, but at the same time, they were one.

Mello broke the silence. "I guess I better start packing up, then."

"Guess so."

The blond stood up and opened the closet door slowly. He went through the storage space, pulling out his clothes—mostly made up of black T-shirts and jeans, but there was the odd sweatshirt or other colored shirt—but not many. He hung the hangers on the end of the bunk bed, ready to be moved into the new room.

"This just sucks," Matt complained to himself from the floor.

"You're telling me."

"At least you're not getting switched to a different orphanage. If this wasn't Wammy's, I'm pretty sure that's what would happen."

"Well we _are_ Wammy's," Mello said with a grumble. "You'd think we could come up with a way to get out of this."

"With Roger, I don't think there's really anything we can do. I say just go along with it aaaand," Matt drew out the word, thinking as he spoke, "You basically live here anyway."

"Really? I was thinking more along the lines of blow this shit up and go find L and help him fight Kira."

Matt laughed and Mello joined in. "I love you."

"So are you in?" The blond squatted in front of the gamer.

"Totally," Matt said with a roll of his eyes as the chocoholic pulled him to his feet. He clung onto Mello and hugged him. "I'm gonna miss talking to your subconscious in the middle of the night, though," He murmured into his shoulder.

Mello let him go, but he tightened his grip. With a quick jab to the ribs, Matt yelped and let go, rubbing the spot on his ribcage. "Damn, Mels. I swear you're gonna kill me one of these days."

"Oh you know you love it, masochist."

"So what if I do, sadist?"

"Then I'm right. Again."

Matt dropped his head into the side of the bunk bed. "I walked into that."

"…Yeah, you did." There was a pause, and something occurred to him. "Who fucking ratted us out? If it was Linda, God, I'm sorry, Matt, but you'll never see her again," He growled, gritting his teeth.

The gamer turned slowly. "Ah, I don't think it was her," he said carefully.

"Are you saying you know who it was?" Mello's eyes were like a laser through Matt.

"…I'm saying I have a pretty good idea." At the blond's piercing glare, he uttered, "Gary." Mello was out the door before Matt could blink.

…

Gary and Mello glared at each other as they sat in Roger's office. Gary held an icepack and a towel to his nose.

"…You will meet me here after your classes for three weeks. No chocolate until the New Year, either."

Mello's eyes grew wide. He could care less about where he studied, but no one—I repeat—no one messed with Mello's chocolate. He goes through… withdrawal. Even Matt was horrified when he heard the sentence. He held is tongue, though, hoping the blond would be able to shimmy out of the punishment.

Though, hoping wouldn't save him from the wrath of a pissy, chocolate-deprived blond.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** Oh, goodness, Mello without chocolate is quite the scary thought. O.O

If I don't update before then, everyone have a happy holiday and an even better New Year! :D


	15. Chapter 15

Mello cradled the final of his hoarded chocolate bars in his hand. One could almost see the teardrop rolling down its wrapper as the blond carefully peeled back the foil. "Okay, I'm only going to have one square a day. That should carry me over until almost my birthday. By then, this'll all be lifted—"

"Early release for good behavior, heh," Matt chuckled to himself. He held an ice pack on the back of his head and rested his bandaged foot up on the bed. He'd gotten shoved backward into the chair, resulting in a large, egg-sized bump on the gamer's head and a twisted ankle. This wasn't before Mello whipped Matt's Rubik's cube against the wall, causing a small dent in the drywall.

His remark earned him a freezing glare. Mello turned back to his chocolate bar. He broke off one piece and licked it before popping the whole thing into his mouth. He held it there as it melted, and he nearly groaned as the thought of missing the taste for such a long time.

The blond slowly wrapped up the bar, clenching his jaw as if it caused him physical pain.

For the next two weeks, Mello suffered through a move to a new room, as well as only _one_ piece of chocolate a day.

…Who am I kidding? It was gone by the end of the night.

**A/N: **I know it's short. But it felt like this part was out of place with the next chapter, so I'm just putting it as a separate chapter. :D I hope you all had a nice holiday! Get ready for the new year!


	16. Chapter 16

The next morning, Mello finished stacking up his books. The blond was excused from the first two periods of their usual Monday schedule, and Roger came to room 42 to ensure the move. Mello grumbled to himself as he carried a rather tall pile of books down the hall to room 48. It took all of his restraint to not take one of the heavy and potentially deadly textbooks and heave it at the Wammy's caretaker behind him. Then he'd move all of his shit back to Matt's room and live happily ever after.

But instead of injuring Mr. Ruvie, he returned to his office. Now only Mello was left with carting all of his clothes from one room to the other. He brooded as he did it, complaining and swearing both in his head and under his breath.

Mello looked around his new room. It seemed empty, with all of his stuff piled up on various surfaces: the desk, the top bunk, and the closet. With a careless roll of his eyes and the thought: _I'm not putting all this shit away now,_ he laced up his boots and headed outside for Physical Education.

…

"Ow, ow, ow, Mello that hurts!"

"I know," The blond smirked evilly as the younger boy struggled to free his hair from Mello's firmly clenched hand.

"Mello!" He glanced in the direction of the call, and the P.E. teacher yelled, "Roger wants to see you in his office."

"Fuck, what does that old geezer want now?" He grumbled to himself as he stepped inside.

…

Matt dragged through classes with Linda by his side as always. The French girl found it positively amusing that the pair had been found out, but upon seeing Matt's annoyed expression, she laid off him about it.

A paper shuriken landed on Linda's desk. She opened it.

_Mello's not gonna be there by the time I get back. I'm depressed._

She sighed and scribbled a reply in time with her note taking. She discreetly folded it back up and stretched her arms over her head. The throwing star dropped from her hands onto the desk behind her, where the gamer sat, nearly asleep in Psychology.

_You're being a drama queen. Weren't you the one to tell him it'd be all good?_

Matt moved to pick up his pencil—but the damn thing had disappeared. He scrounged around in his bag and pulled out a red pen with the cap chewed to shreds.

Linda opened the note once it came flying back.

_So? (FUCKING NINJA PENCILS SUCK)_

The artist yawned and turned in her desk to crack her back. She dropped the note on his desk.

"Linda, is there an acceptable reason for your fidgeting?" The teacher asked her.

The brunette looked him in the eyes. "Nope, I'm sorry." She knew better than to lie to the _psych_ teacher.

"Very well. Please move up to the front." He tapped the desk in front of his large teacher's desk and Linda reluctantly moved across the room. She threw a glance at Matt.

_Stop worrying, lovebird. You'll be fine. (I KNOW. It's like they just disappear to another dimension_!)

…

"I don't know, but I hate foreign languages. I'll just stick to English, thank you."

"Hey, English is foreign to me. Le francais est ma langue maternelle._"_ Linda complained, transitioning smoothly into French. She closed the door behind her.

"Yeah, but English is more popular." Matt dropped his bag below the coat rack behind the door. "I mean, yeah, we're second to Mandarin Chinese, but that's just because they don't know what a condom is."

"Or any kind of birth control, really," The brunette added, following Matt into the room. He stopped abruptly and Linda ran into him.

"What is it, Mattie?" There was no reply. "Matt, snap out of it—what's up?" She put a hand on his shoulder and stepped around him to look him in the eye.

He moved her out of the way and pointed to the TV, where a yellow lined sticky note was attached to the screen. The words were written in black sharpie, and there was a key taped to the paper:

"I'm sorry. I'm on my way to L.A. Don't follow me—you won't find me. L's dead. I love you."

It was signed with a simple, "Mello."

Linda stared too, before Matt started to chuckle behind her. She looked at him and drew her eyebrows together. "What the hell are you laughing at?"

"Mels, you asshole. Nice joke, really," He strode to the television and tore the note from the screen. He took the key, folded the note up and tossed it into the rubbish bin beside Mello's desk.

"I don't think that's a joke," Linda said, concerned. She picked the note from the trash, grabbed his wrist, and looked at him, "He left the key to his desk, Matt." She could feel his pulse rising with each word she said. "Come on," The brunette pulled him toward the door, out the hall, and toward Roger's office.

Roger sat, hands to his mouth, in the dim office. Afternoon light filtered through drawn blinds, and it looked as if he belonged in a horribly cliché detective movie. Linda opened the door without even knocking, redhead in tow, and dropped the note on his desk. "Is it true?"

The caretaker of Wammy's House silently unfolded the note, scanned it, and looked up to the two teens standing before him. Linda's mouth was a tight line, and Matt stared down emptily at his hands.

"I'm afraid it is."

Matt looked up at him and his jaw went slack. "What?"

His face held no emotion. "Mello has left Wammy's House."

**A/N: **I'm sorry to all of those who wanted more fluff! Therewill _definitely_ be more MxM fluff and junk, but it may take a few chapters. :D Thanks to all of my reviewers, you make my day!

Oh, and Happy New Year!


	17. Chapter 17

Matt was dead on the inside. "This isn't happening," he kept mumbling to himself. Linda stayed at his side, trying to keep his head on, but it didn't seem to be working. She made him sit down in her room and held his hand comfortingly.

After a few hours, Linda's stomach growled out loud. The sun had set and it was nearing dinnertime. "Matt, do you want me go to get us something to eat?"

"Whatever."

"Stay here. I'll be right back." Linda stepped into the hallway and weaved around the other students making their way to the dining room. Into the kitchen she went, speaking briefly with one of the chefs. The old woman tilted her head and gave her an apologetic hug before dishing out two plates of lasagna.

As soon as Linda left the room, Matt made his move. With a quick scribble, he was out the window with nothing more than the clothes on his back.

He walked. The sun had set and puddles lined the uneven sidewalk. Dark clouds hung overhead in the darkness. He was completely numb to his leaden legs, icy feet and shivering core. If only he could get there faster…

Linda turned around at the closed door and turned the knob with her elbow. She pushed the door open with her hip. "Hey, we've got lasagna toni—" Her jaw went slack and the two plates crashed to the floor.

Sage poked her head out of the door across the hall. "Hey, are you alright?" The orange-haired girl asked before running to get a broom.

When she returned not a minute or two later, Linda was tugging on her Wellington boots, bag in hand. "Tell Storm to cover for me. She'll know what I mean. Tell her I'll be back by dawn. If not, I'll call." She strode through the halls, making a pit stop at the dining hall. A piece of bread disappeared from one of the younger kids' plate as she flitted by. She walked into Matt's room down the hall and pulled his ratty old black jacket and nice lace-up boots from the closet. She stuffed them in her bag followed by a change of clothes. The brunette swung a leg out the window, followed by the other. She dropped to the ground and ran after her best friend.

A taxi splashed Matt as he got out of another yellow car. He handed the driver whatever money he had on him and walked away. It wasn't too much farther to the airport. Mustering up some of the last of his energy, he tromped into the London Heathrow Airport and immediately looked at the flight schedule. A flight to Los Angeles, California, USA, was boarding now. He broke out into a dead sprint toward the gates, attracting the attention of many people—not just the ones he nearly ran into.

As he tried to dash straight through customs, two guards stopped him. The two men in uniform held the rampant teen by one arm each as he desperately struggled to break through. "What's the hurry?"

"_Mello!_" He screamed, though he knew it was futile. "My best friend is going to America! He can't leave! _You can't leave me, Mello!" _The two security guards hauled him away with not-so-sympathetic expressions.

Mello had his head against the window of the airplane, music playing in his ears through a black MP3 player. He drifted into a slumber, having gotten through the task of forging documents and sneaking around security measures in just a few hours. It had been tough work, even for a "Wammy's kid," as Linda called them.

The guards deposited the teen on the sidewalk. It had begun to rain. Matt dragged himself to his feet with the last of his sharply falling pride and stumbled back into the city in the general direction of the bus stop. Finally, he ran out of energy and found a cozy spot in an alleyway to rest, among moldy boxes, trash bags, and crates.

"_Matt!" _Linda yelled through the streets as she stepped down from the bus. An umbrella protected her head from the growing rain. She tromped through the puddles and scoured the alleyways. "Mattie!"

The rain slowly transitioned to snow, and the puddles began to freeze over. Linda's eyes suddenly set on the shivering striped figure crouching among the trash. "Oh, Matt-Matt," she said, not bothering to mask the obvious worry in her voice. She crouched before him and pulled the foggy goggles from his eyes.

"He left. He's gone," he whispered, more to himself than the brunette.

"I know. It's freezing out here. You're going to get hypothermia. Here, I brought you some clothes. It's a good thing, too; you're soaked," Linda said, pulling him up by the elbow. She walked him a gas station a block or two over. When she pulled on the door, the bathrooms outside were locked and there was no one inside. _Of all the damn gas stations in this city, we have to be at the one that closes at ten,_ she thought bitterly to herself.

With a sigh, the artist dragged Matt beside the dumpster out back. He was a shell; his mind was absent from his body and he barely moved without assistance. "Arms up," Linda said quickly, and Matt lethargically raised his hands over his head. She tugged the soaked tee from his body, stretching onto her tiptoes. Purple bruises lined his arms from where the guards had grabbed him. She ran an unusually warm hand over them. "Oh, Matt," she said, almost guiltily. She handed him the dry black and gray striped shirt she had packed up and he put it on emptily. She placed the pair of jeans in his hands. "Can you handle those?" She turned her back and he changed.

When he was done, Linda held out his boots with a pair of socks stuffed in them. She saw his fingers shaking and she wiped off the top of an overturned bucket before pushing him down onto it. As if he were no older than a kindergartener, the artist pulled on his socks and laced up his boots. She helped him put on his coat and stretched his goggles over his head. He lowered them onto his eyes and she took him in a hug. "Matt, come on. There should be another bus back to Winchester any minute now. Let's get you home."

Sure enough, the bus came and the brunette towed the redhead on board. The ride home was quiet. There were odd figures that got on and off, but they were ignored. Linda rubbed Matt's icy hands between her warmer ones as they leaned on each other. Matt drifted off into a tired sleep.

When the bus reached the closest stop to Wammy's House about an hour later, the artist poked the gamer from his sleep and they walked back to the orphanage. With a quick tap on Linda's window, Storm opened the glass a few moments later and pulled the two into the building. Linda brought the exhausted Matt back to his room, where he didn't even bother to undress before falling straight into bed.

"You're a good friend, Linda. More than someone like me could ever dream to have," Storm said truthfully as the two girls climbed into their respective bunks.

Linda sighed. "Well I couldn't just leave him out there. You should have seen him when he first got here after his parents died; he was just like he is now: a zombie," she paused, wrapping her bracelet around the bunk frame. "I love him. I don't know if I could ever live with myself if anything ever happened to him."

"He's lucky. He really is."

There was no reply. The brunette had already slipped into a deep and well-deserved sleep.

**A/N:** Sorry for the angsty-ness in this chapter. It might stick around for a couple chapters, but hopefully not for _too _long. Don't you worry, my pretties. :)


	18. Chapter 18

The next day, the redhead didn't show to his classes. Linda immediately ditched and went to his room, where the gamer lay in bed. He stared at the wall.

"Matt?" Linda called softly as she sat down gingerly at the edge of his bed. "Matt, it'll be alright. I'm here for you. If he truly loves you, he'll come back. And I know he does. You'll see each other again, I promise you—"

"Can you really make that promise?" His raspy voice said.

She placed a hand on his shoulder. "Yes. I see the way you two look at each other. I've seen the way he kissed you. This separation isn't going to last forever, I can feel it."

Matt cleared his throat. "But you can't guarantee that. You sound like you belong in a soap opera. Stop being such an optimist. It's a big world; we all know I'm never going to see him again."

"You stop being such a pessimist all of a sudden! You were the happiest person alive just yesterday. You're my best friend for life, and I am going to get you through this. It doesn't matter how long it takes or what it drags me through," Linda said with a sense of finality.

"Glad to know _someone_ cares about me."

"He cares about you, too, Matt!" She snapped. Her voice softened again. "Did you read that note? That 'sorry' wasn't sardonic. I can tell he meant it. You just wait. It'll happen. You two will see each other again, okay? Chin up, darling."

Matt sighed and rolled over to face her. He moved so his back pressed against the cold wall. His eyes lacked their usual goggles; they were resting on the nightstand. His eyes were puffy and pink, though he tried his best to hide it. "I hope you're right."

Linda took the space the redhead had just vacated. Propping her head up with an elbow, she said lightly, "You know I'm always right about these kinds of things." He let a ghost of a grin show. "Are you hungry? You missed breakfast, didn't you?"

Matt took inventory of his body. "No. I haven't eaten anything since lunch yesterday and I'm not hungry."

"You and I both know something's wrong with that."

"The thought of eating makes me sick."

She rolled off the bed and onto her feet. "If I have to force feed you, I will. I'll be right back, and don't you _dare_ think about up and leaving again," Linda warned, wagging her finger at the ginger.

"Maybe," He said, finally smiling. The brunette beamed and disappeared into the hall.

She returned with the same old lunch lady from the previous day. The woman held a tray in her hands with a hearty breakfast of waffles and an orange. "Surprise, Mattie! We cooked these up just for you," Linda said with a smile. "Well, Gail cooked; I played soux-chef."

"Which you are very good at; it made things go much quicker," Gail complimented her.

Matt put his head back and sighed, a smirk starting on his face. "You guys are too good to me." He sat up and received the tray gratefully.

He drenched his waffles in syrup as Linda sat at the foot of his bed. "Well, you know," she said, grinning. She crossed her legs underneath her. "We love you." Gail waved to the teens and returned to the dining hall. Matt shoveled half a waffle into his mouth.

In no time, the waffles were gone. "Not so sick of eating now, are you?" The artist asked with a smile as she watched him.

"I admit I do feel a teeny weeny bit better."

"Thoughts?"

Matt sighed again. "It just doesn't seem real." He slid the tray onto the nightstand, pushing his goggles off and into the chair. The bells rang, signaling the end of second period.

"I know. It doesn't. I mean, I used to hate Mello. But since you showed up, I've been with at least one of you almost every second of every day. It doesn't mean I approved of him beating on Near every other time their paths crossed, but…"

"Unrequited love sucks, eh?" He said teasingly, referring to Linda's old crush on the resident sheep.

"Like you would know!" Linda said indignantly, smiling.

"I _do _know." He crossed his arms and nodded.

The brunette sniffed. "Not with Mello. He's always loved you."

"I don't mean him," Matt said with a roll of his eyes. He folded his legs Indian-style. "Alright, this is probably the only thing I've never told you."

"Hey, I thought we agreed to tell each other everything!"

"You've got to admit, there are _some_ things we'd all like to just keep to ourselves. Like that one time when I was in the bathroom, and—"

"Okay, okay, I get it. What were you saying?" Linda cut him off, squeezing her eyes shut in an attempt to rid her mind of the memory of that story.

Matt stared at the blanket as he began, "When I first got here so many years ago…"

"Yeah?" Linda prompted.

"I kind of had this really big thing for you." Linda stopped and looked at him. He started to chuckle and she joined in, though her heart wasn't completely in it. "Crazy, right?"

"Yeah, I don't know what you were thinking! Who would ever like someone like _me?_" Her laugh turned almost bitter and Matt frowned.

"What's up?"

"Nothing's up."

"I highly doubt that."

"Yo Matt, why weren't you in—" Finch walked in and stopped short when he saw Linda sitting with Matt. "Oh, am I, uh, interrupting anything?"

"Nope, nothing."

"Yeah, kinda."

They spoke simultaneously. Linda waved him in, but Matt just hit his head on the wall behind him. The dirty blond backed out slowly. "Yeah, I'll come back later then. Yeah, feel better, bro."

As soon as the door closed, Linda stood up and picked up the tray. "I should bring this back to the kitchen before this becomes impossible to wash." She ran out the door without another word.

Matt got up and changed out of his clothes from the night before. He strapped his goggles to his head and ran out the door after Linda. He stopped first at the dining hall, where Gail said she had left the tray but didn't say a word. He hurried back to her room, but no one was there. Outside he went, tromping through the thin layer of snow as he searched their P.E. class. He stopped Storm. "Have you seen Linda?"

"No, last time I saw her was during chemistry. She said she was going to go find you."

Matt growled to himself. "Alright, thanks. If you see her, tell her I want to talk to her."

"Will do."

He stomped back inside, luckily evading their teacher's watch. "Where the hell is she?"

…

Linda dropped the tray at the kitchen and immediately felt horrible for leaving Matt. She ran back to his room, but he wasn't there. She dropped by the kitchen again, and Gail told her that Matt had just been there, looking for her. She growled and made her way to what she thought was his next destination: her room. When she opened the door, the redhead was nowhere to be found. She ran outside quickly and caught up to Storm.

"Hey Linda. Matt is looking for you. He said he wanted to talk," Storm said as the brunette approached her.

"Cat and mouse, damn it!" She ran back inside. "Where are you, Mattie?"

Finally, Linda decided to just head back to her room. Sure enough, Matt was in there, sitting at her desk. He was making an origami crane out of one of her neon sticky notes. "Matt!"

His head shot up. "Linda! Damn it, where have you been?"

"Apparently, everywhere you have."

He stood up and hugged her. She squirmed free. "What did you want?"

"You looked like you needed a hug. What was bugging you back there?" He looked at her, concerned.

"I told you it was nothing. I—I'm PMSing, is that enough for you?"

"No."

Linda stopped and stared at him. She plopped down on her loveseat, and Matt gingerly took the seat next to her. "You're difficult." He flashed a grin. "I was just being selfish, okay? I was jealous of you. You didn't have to go through all of those bitchy girls or asshole guys to find the one person you're going to love forever. I do. I have."

"I already told you, when I first got here—"

"Yeah, yeah, you had a 'thing' for me." She emphasized it with air quotes. "Not anymore. It's not like it would go anywhere, anyway…" Her voice trailed off. "But who cares, right? Friends are forever. You'll find Mello soon enough, so don't you worry your pretty little head about it!" She smiled and looked at Matt.

He examined her with narrowed eyes, but grinned. "Maybe. Or, maybe we'll be forever alones who live next door to each other with a hundred cats between us," The redhead quipped.

"Nah," Linda said dismissively, "That'll be me. You'll be the one living 'happily ever after,' doing absolutely anything your little hearts desire. Knowing you, that'll be sitting on the couch all day with a DS and a Wii, and Mello will probably be sitting there with you gloating over how he finally beat Near."

Matt sighed. "If he ever comes back."

"He _will._"

"Okay," he drawled doubtfully.

Linda crossed her legs on the small sofa. "How about some old school Mario Kart to get your mind off things?" She leaned forward and pulled a cardboard box from beneath the couch, donning an N64 and several games.

Matt groaned to himself. "You make it difficult to be depressed."

"Good. I aim to keep it that way."

…

"Mr. Ruvie?" The sheepish assistant teacher poked his head in the caretaker's door.

"What is it, Adrian?" He said, not even looking up from his paperwork.

He gripped his clipboard and pushed up his glasses. Brushing a strand of brown hair away from his eyes, he flipped the pages until he stopped and put a finger to the paper. "Uh, Matt didn't attend c-class today."

Roger stopped writing and sighed. "He was Mello's best friend. As I learned, Mello didn't even say goodbye to him. He left him a note. Let him have one day off." He continued to write.

"O-Okay," Adrian stuttered and examined the list again. "Uh, Linda was also a-absent."

The caretaker stopped again. "Go check on them. _Now._" Adrian jumped and scurried out of the room.

**A/N: **Sorry it took a bit. I've had this part (as well as the last one) for a while, but for some reason I couldn't log on yesterday to post it. But it let me today, so it's all good! Anywho, here's another chapter for you! Hope you enjoyed it! :D


	19. Chapter 19

Time flew by. Soon enough Christmas approached. Matt, Linda, Storm, and Finch sat in the girls' bedroom and each held a present or two for each other. Linda twisted around and placed her hot chocolate on the desk behind her. "Okay, let the gift exchange begin!" At the same time, boxes and bags were slid across the floor to their recipients.

Everyone tore open presents all at once.

"Sweet!" Storm set aside a few sappy teen romance books, a collaboration from Finch and Matt.

"Oh my gosh." Linda held up a charm bracelet. Dangling from the silver chain were six charms: a chocolate bar, a robot, a paintbrush, a bird, a book, and a Nintendo controller. She immediately hooked it around her wrist.

"Yeah, that was from all of us. Yeah, a little something to remember me—and everyone else, really—once I'm gone," Finch explained with a smile.

The artist shook her head. "We're all here," she said, examining the bracelet, "Even Near." She looked up. "I still can't believe you'll be gone soon."

"Yeah, well, those rain forests aren't gonna save themselves, right? Well, unless all of the lemurs and chimps and panthers all join forces to dominate the human race…" He leaned back against the wall and examined his own gifts. There was a brand new pair of binoculars from Storm, a set of colored pencils from Linda and ChapStick from Matt. "Oh, man, really?" He outright laughed at the redhead, and Matt just leaned back and chuckled.

Linda shook her head, not understanding some inside joke between the guys. She pointed to the box she'd slid over to Matt. "Open it already!"

"Alright, alright." The gamer peeled back the red tissue and held up a white and tan wool vest. He dangled it in front of him and looked down at it. "Awesome."

"Your old jacket had less fabric left on it than a slut's lingerie. Just saying. And you always used to complain about how your sleeves get bunched up? Not gonna happen anymore." Linda poked the vest, and Matt, in the chest.

He tugged it on. "Thanks." He grinned.

Linda smiled and observed him for a moment, tapping a finger on her chin.

Her thoughts were interrupted when Sage poked her head in the door. "Supper's early today. Might want to get down there before it's all gone."

The group stood and stretched. Linda grabbed her hot chocolate in one hand. As she flitted by Matt, she stretched onto her toes midstride and whispered in his ear, "Check the pockets."

His odd look was lost on her as Finch and Storm passed in front of him. He unzipped the pocket and found a note and a mini Hershey's bar. He craned his neck out the door and watched as Linda glanced back at him and waved for him to come. He opened the note and hung back.

_Dearest Mattie,_

_ It's different without him. I feel it too. Maybe not to the same degree as you, but I still do. Just remember, I'll always be here for you, whether you like it or not. He's thinking about you right now. I can tell. Yeah, I accidentally stepped in a radioactive puddle the other day, and it somehow zapped my brain so I have the powers of long-distance ESP. He's thinking about you alright. Loud and clear. All red and green with little silver hearts. I'll do anything within my power to help the perfect match find each other again. Don't worry, okay? We've got this._

_ Love, Linda _

He couldn't help but smile as he folded the note back up and jogged out the door, closing it behind him. He plopped down in the seat next to Linda at the long dining table and he grinned at her. She nodded reassuringly, showing a grin herself.

The students who celebrated Christmas all bowed their heads in a brief prayer, including Linda. Matt, though he wasn't religious in the least, took the artist's proffered hand and bowed his head too.

"Lord, I thank you for all you have done for us. Thank you for keeping Matt with me, and I pray for a bright future for all of us," She whispered under her breath as Roger led a Christmas prayer.

With a squeeze of their hands, Matt added on, "And thanks for giving me one of the best friends anyone could ever have."

**A/N:** Sorry if I offended anyone with the religious bit in here. ^^" Soon, my pretties, soon. *pets cat evilly* …I don't even have a cat.

This is one of my favorite numbers *19!* and one of my favorite chapters. I don't quite know why, but it is. I want Linda's bracelet so badly though. *drools* Hope you enjoyed, and be sure to leave a review!


	20. Chapter 20

On the 18th of January, Finch stood with a bag in either hand. "Well, plane leaves in about four hours. Gotta get going," He said, waiting as his friends gathered round. He clapped hands with Matt and they hugged in the manliest way possible.

"Remember me when you're famous," he said and sat back on the windowsill of the common room.

Storm waved. "Yeah, and good luck." She smiled.

"Well, guess this is goodbye," The blonde turned was about to push out the door when Linda grabbed his arm. "Wha—?"

He was silenced by a gentle kiss from the artist. There was a hoot from Storm behind them and Gary watched in outrage. Matt just grinned. "Keep in touch." She pushed him out the door. "Go save the world, Finch. Or should I say Flynn Cooper, now." She beamed.

"Uh, yeah. Always!" He gave a sloppy, half smile as he stepped onto the driveway, where Roger Ruvie waited, tapping his foot impatiently. He waved goodbye to all of his friends sitting in the window.

"You did it!" Matt exclaimed as they stepped into his cold room.

Linda plopped down onto his bed. "I did!"

"I think a kiss from Finch is a pretty damn good birthday present," He smirked.

"Well, it was more than that," She received a quizzical look. "It was kind of my first. Well, other than Mello when we were screwing around with you because of that cat, but I don't count that."

"Hm." He tucked that bit of information away as he picked up the guitar for Guitar Hero. "Think fast," He tossed it at Linda and she caught it with ease.

As the song began, Linda took a breath. "So I guess we're in about the same situation now, eh?"

"At least your guy said goodbye. Fin—uh, Flynn is better than Mello with communication. He'll actually call you and say hey every now and then," He mumbled.

"Matt," She groaned.

He shrugged. "It's true."

Linda just shook her head and slouched a bit as the song ended. She paused the game and looked at the gamer. "Hey Matt," she began carefully, "Does it bug you at all that technically, Mello was my first kiss?"

"Why would it? I don't care about milestones like that. It's the same with birthdays. I celebrate others', like yours today, but I couldn't care less if anyone even mentioned mine." He brought his feet up on the arm of the blue chair.

"I was just wondering…" Her voice trailed off as she selected the next song in their set. "You let me know, though, if anything like that ever bugs you."

"Will do," He said almost absently as he tackled the sudden onslaught of notes.

Linda just sighed.

**A/N: **Okay, so since I actually have an inkling of a plan… FOUR CHAPTERS. You have been warned. :3 And I'll give you a hint: that's not till the end. Again, this was one of those chapters that I enjoyed writing for now apparent reason. Well, I enjoyed writing this entire story, but this and the last chapter in particular. Thanks to all my reviewers! You guys keep me updating!


	21. Chapter 21

Linda drew a deep breath and knocked on the computer lab's door. "Hey Matt," she called softly.

He looked up from typing away furiously at his computer, actually working on an assignment for class. "Huh?"

"Can we talk?" She stood on one foot, twirling the other on her toes behind her. Her hands were clasped together in front of her. She wore her black boots and jacket, the one Matt referred to as her "bad detective coat." It buttoned up in two columns in the front, and the lapel was pressed back to her chest. There was a piece of paper peeking from the breast pocket.

Matt gave her a once over. "Where are you going?"

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about."

"Go on," He prompted her, motioning for her to sit down in the chair beside him.

She sat down gingerly. "Well…" She began, but gave up, smiling. She drew the note from her breast pocket and handed it to Matt. "Here."

He scanned it: "Dearest Linda. On behalf of Master Wiatt, I would like to formally invite you to live as an apprentice at our studio in Los Angeles, California, USA. We have seen your work and would greatly appreciate if you joined us in our mission to spread beauty throughout our modern world. Room and board will be provided in exchange for your excellent skills and as well as a modest pay. Enclosed is one plane ticket to L.A., via the London Heathrow Airport. If you accept, please call us at 555-323-2527. Master Wiatt himself will be receiving you. If you decline, please return the ticket with return envelope also enclosed. We hope to see you and your skills soon! Most sincerely, Kyle Dreiney."

He looked up from the crisp stationary and his expression fell. "So, you've accepted? You're leaving?"

The brunette nodded solemnly. "Matt, this is Master Wiatt! He's been my role model for ages now. This is an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Well, maybe not for a Wammy's kid," Matt turned away from her and stared at the computer screen. "Still, I wouldn't pass up on something like this."

He tried to swallow, but there was a lump in the way. She put a hand on his arm, caressing the pale hairs there. "You know saying goodbye to you is really, _really_ hard for me." He closed his eyes. "And I don't know what I'm going to do without you." He sat still as a rock. "I'll call you every day. Somehow, I'll need to talk to you at least once a day."

"When's your flight?" He managed to say without his voice cracking.

"Tonight, ten o'clock."

He glanced at the clock at the corner of his computer screen. It was already one. "When did you find out?"

"I only just got the letter yesterday. I wasn't sure how to tell you." Linda looked at her hands. "I really don't want to leave you, but I can't decline going."

He took a steeling breath and met her eyes. "Then take me with you. There's gotta be an extra seat on that plane," He begged.

"I wish I could. But I can't. I've already looked into it; the plane is full. There would be no place for you to stay, either. Master Wiatt won't let me have a roommate, let alone the fact that you're a guy. He's _mad _religious. You know, no 'living in sin,'" She took his hands. "I really want to take you. It's hard to believe I'm actually going to be leaving."

Matt hissed through his teeth. "You can say that again."

"I promise I'll keep in touch. You know I love you and there's no way I could ever live without you," Linda said, shaking her head sadly as she spoke.

"Okay."

"Okay?"

"Okay," Matt said with a sense of finality. He saved his project and pulled his bag over his shoulder. The two stood together for a moment, and he looked down at the shorter girl. In a slow, smooth motion, Matt leaned down and kissed Linda. She reached up and met him, and though she was surprised, she kissed back. He pressed a hand to the side of her head, swiping her dark hair behind her ear and cupping her cheek. She mirrored him, and her cold hands pressed against his rough, warm skin. A moment later, it was over. Matt had disappeared out the door, leaving Linda standing alone, stunned in the computer lab. Only the tingling memory on their lips remained.

…

Matt opened the door slowly, quietly clicking it shut behind him. He tossed his book bag lazily onto his bed and fell into the blue chair. He pressed his cheek to the upholstery and remembered all the times Mello would lounge there and watch him decimate his opponents in Soul Caliber. He rested his elbows on his knees and held his face.

First Mello, then Finch, and now even Linda was leaving him. Did no one want to stay with him, to be together for the rest of their days? It seemed like everyone was deserting him, and he just slid further and further down into a slump with each loved one that disappeared. Next thing he knew, the orphanage could burn to the ground and leave him on the streets, alone, with no one who cared two shits about him.

He'd thought of suicide. He honestly had. It wouldn't be too hard, no, not at all hard. It would be quick and painless, just the way he'd want it. He'd been through enough pain. The orphanage had gone through it before with A; they would get through it again with Matt.

But was it worth it, sacrificing the sixteen years of his life for escape?

His heart wrenched in his chest as he stood and walked toward his desk. He fingered the key around his neck before removing it: the same key he'd tried to steal from Mello. He opened the last drawer and blinked at the empty space where his sleeping medication he'd snuck from the nurse's office used to be.

He slammed the drawer shut. All three drawers he rifled through and slammed shut. Desperation growing, he crossed the room, shoving aside knick knacks and searching the bookshelf. He was all over the room, until he stood in the center, looked around and pulled his hair. Frustration growing too much to handle, he held his breath as tears gathered at the corners of his eyes. "Where—are—they?" His voice was choked.

There was a barely audible click as the white wooden door eased open. "Looking for these?" A somber, melancholy voice asked, and there was the sound of pills shaking in a bottle.

Matt whipped around and stared at Linda. "Why? You're leaving me now, and that means you'll never see me again. What difference would it make, whether I was alive or dead then? Huh?" The redhead asked wildly, waving his arms around.

Linda wordlessly pocketed the pill bottle and opened her arms wide. She embraced Matt, and his tears spilled over. The redhead clutched at her back and sobbed. She rubbed the taller boy's back soothingly, resting her head in the crook of his shoulder.

The brunette's voice trembled as she whispered in his ear, "I would never, not in a million years, want you to ever think about ending yourself. The thought of you being _gone_… I'd never be able to accept it. I'd cry every time I heard your name," She sniffed and blinked back a tear. "I love you, Mattie. Don't you ever think otherwise, okay?"

"Thank you, Linda," He managed to choke through the tears.

"Would you have really done it?" She asked calmly.

"I don't know. I just—don't know."

"Mattie?" Linda asked hesitantly.

"Yeah?"

"I wasn't going to leave just because of Master Wiatt," His heart thumped in his chest. "It's in L.A. I was going to go find Mello for you. I told you I'd make sure you two saw each other again, and I always keep my word." Another sob came from the redhead. "Matt?"

"You don't know how much that means, Linda. You really don't."

"I know, Matt. I know."

**A/N: **Aw, poor Mattie. D: Bit of a rough chapter. Don't you worry though, the countdown has dropped to three!

And for the record, I adore Mello, don't get me wrong. I just like writing scenes like that. :)


	22. Chapter 22

A little blue light blinked on at the top of Linda's laptop. It was brand new—nothing too special. It sat on the desk in her spare room, playing the radio quietly through the apartment as she painted the walls. She stretched upward with the paint roller and a soft, pastel green coated the previous white. She jumped down from the step stool and dropped the roller in the plastic frame.

"Be careful. Wouldn't want you falling and breaking something."

Her ears perked up at the voice and her head snapped around to the laptop. "Matt?" She asked excitedly. Matt's face greeted her. He laughed and brushed red hair out of his face and looked around. "Matt, it's midnight there! Wait—how are you doing this?"

"I don't call my specialty technology just because it sounds good," He smirked over the camera. "I happened to know that you got a laptop with a built in camera—Toshiba." Linda beamed and made her way across the room where she knelt in front of the computer. "Anyway, I set up a private connection between your computer and mine. Nobody could hack into this baby."

"You're amazing."

"I know," Matt smirked.

"Oh shut up."

"Miss Wammy?" A voice outside the camera's view spoke.

The artist sat back on her heels and looked to the door. "Oh, hi Kyle! I told you, call me Linda. Come here, I want to meet my friend Matt!" She waved him down and a young man with dark brown spiky hair knelt down beside Linda. "Matt, this is Kyle. He's the one who sent me my letter."

Matt eyed him but waved anyway. "Hey."

"Hey." He smiled and looked to the brunette beside him. "Linda, Master Wiatt wants you down in the rec room. Introduction and such."

"Have fun!" Matt said over the computer.

"I will. Bye Mattie!" She beamed at him until they were disconnected a moment later. She closed her laptop and walked off with Kyle.

Matt, back at Wammy's House, also closed his laptop. _Okay, this wasn't as bad as he thought it would be,_ he admitted to himself. If things kept up like this, he might actually be alright. For a while, at least.

…

"Alright, why so cheeky?"

"No reason; I'm just happy."

"Glad to hear it. Now tell me why."

"I told you, I'm just happy! Does there have to be a reason?" Linda's voice squeaked, betraying her hidden giddiness. "Okay, okay, I give. There is a reason." She couldn't hold back her smile and she kicked her legs in the air as she lay sideways on the couch. Her laptop rested on the ottoman.

"Do I have to come kill someone?" Matt asked, holding a straight face.

Linda rolled her eyes and laughed as she sat up. She folded her legs beneath her and stared down at the laptop screen. "No, you don't. It's Kyle. He asked me out to dinner earlier!" She squealed again. She took a deep breath. "We're going to this Chinese place tomorrow night. I can't wait!"

"Well it only took him four months."

Linda looked at him curiously. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that it's obvious he liked you and it's clear you like him just as much."

"Well that was your fault! All this time, he thought you were my boyfriend!" She burst out and laughed. "You should have seen the look on his face when I told him otherwise and that you were gay."

Matt laughed too. "Wow. This guy's got some learning to do."

"Definitely. Well, I'm gonna let you get some sleep. I know you've got finals tomorrow, even if you don't care about them," She sat up on the sofa.

"Meeeeh," Matt groaned, but agreed. "How much longer of this shit?"

"For you, another two years. Have fun!"

"Fuck y—" Matt's voice was cut short as Linda shut down her laptop.

…

The camera blinked on. A muffled sob came from the dark opposite end of the video conversation. Matt heard the buzz of the monitor and turned from his dresser. The sound of crying was made clear as he sat at the desk and pulled the headphones over his ears. "Linda?"

"Mattie," he heard through tears. "Oh God, why?" A lamp clicked on and suddenly the brunette was visible. Her hair was all over the place and tears rushed from her eyes. A round, cherry-red lip jutted outward and a dirty scrape on her cheek showed a trail of dried blood.

Matt's heart wrenched. "Linda! Oh my god, what happened? Take a breath, just calm down."

After a few rapid intakes of breath, she final managed to speak. "They, they—" Another sob.

"Who's 'they,' Linda?" He clenched his hands into fists.

"Them! Those guys," She burst out. "They—" She pulled her coat close tighter and dropped her head.

Matt leaned forward, as close as he could be without disturbing the image in the camera. "What did they do to you?" His voice was soft, yet firm.

With a steeling breath, she whispered, "They raped me."

"Oh my god," Matt murmured. "Linda, you've got to go to a doctor. I know you hate hospitals, but you need to go. Trust me on this, hon. I'll make sure those thugs get sent to jail for life," He growled, fury spilling over his mental barrier. "What did they look like?"

She sniffed. "There were three of them," she said, rubbing her eyes. "One of them had bright red hair. Another was a brunette, almost like me, and the last one I couldn't tell; he had a green knit hat on. They were all taller than me, but the one with the hat was the tallest." She sobbed again. "I don't want to go to the doctors! I don't have any ID, only that temporary passport from two and a half years ago. I don't even know where it is!"

Matt's fingers strummed the desk, wanting to be there for her. _Really there._ But he couldn't. He was stuck here, and Roger had already told him that he wasn't permitted to leave on his own until he was completely mentally stable. Which, at this point, was questionable.

"I'll be okay, I promise Mattie." She took a deep breath. "I'm going to go take a shower. You'll miss breakfast; go." She stood up and, wiping her face one last time, closed her computer before he could protest.

…

"Matt."

"Wha..?" He glanced up from his bed to where the open laptop sat on the nightstand.

"I'm pregnant."

"What?" He sat up quickly, knocking his head on the top bunk. She smiled weakly and he rubbed his head. "What the—oh, no. Not them. No, I told you to go to the doctors!"

"And I did. But I guess I took too long to muster up the courage." Linda swallowed. Her skin was even more pale than usual, and her hair was mussed up. "They told me I had three choices: I could abort, adopt out, or keep it."

"And…? What are you thinking?" He cracked his neck.

"I don't know…" She held her head in her hands.

Matt cleared his throat. "Did you talk to Kyle about it yet?"

"No, you're always the first. Maybe he'll help me figure this out."

"Maybe he'll be able to serve a surrogate dad. Make this little child grow up with the best parents possible. I know you don't believe in abortion, and God knows who the baby'd end up with if you put it up for adoption," Matt reasoned.

"Matt, I'm not even nineteen yet! I can't raise a kid on my own!"

"That's why you've got me, _and_ Kyle, if he's as good as you say he is."

Linda sighed. "Why are you so good at that?"

"What?"

"Helping me make up my mind. Speaking what I'm thinking. Being the overall one person who knows me inside and out. All of the above, really," She pulled her hair from her face and swung it over one shoulder.

Matt beamed. "It's because that's who I am."

She smiled. "Sorry for waking you up at four in the morning."

"Not a problem, hon. Not for you."

"I know. I'm going to go talk to Kyle." She looked off to the side of the camera and shuffled things around. "Bye Mattie. And thank you."

"Bye Linda. Good luck."

…

Linda looked at Matt, eyes holding a bored expression. "So you're hanging out with Near, now?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Yup," Matt stated, popping another potato chip into his mouth. "He's been actively working on the Kira case and said he could use my help with all of the tech stuff. So, now I'm his spy."

"Mello would kill you."

"But I'm not gonna see him again anytime soon, so why not?"

"Mattie—" Linda was cut off.

"Linda, it's been four years since he left. I'm nineteen now, I can't just hang onto him forever," He reasoned, swiping his tongue around his teeth. "I figure I'm not long for this world, anyway. What's the use in wasting it all wishing he was here?"

The artist clicked her tongue and took a sip of her orange juice. "I don't want to hear you talk like that. I mean, getting over Mello, _yeah._ But you've got a long, prosperous life ahead of you. Don't you think otherwise. It scares me, thinking about your death…" Her voice trailed off.

"I know it does. But people die, okay? Sure, it's sad, but it happens. Now, it's the people who aren't supposed to die who need saving. I'm on the case now, Linda."

"I can't say I like it, but you'll do whatever you want to do," She paused, "Just be careful, Matt."

"I'm a big kid now, Linda. I've got this." There was a silence. "So, how's Nora—and or Oliver?"

Linda put a hand over her growing stomach. "Well, it's an annoying little bugger, that's for sure."

"I'm still glad Kyle agreed to help you raise it. I only wish I could be there, too. Near's got me pretty tied up here. We'll be moving base over to New York in not too long. When he finally decides he doesn't need me anymore, I'll be heading to L.A." He winked at her and grinned.

"Well I hope he won't need you anymore soon." She raised her eyebrows.

"Yeah, me too."

Linda's face paled a bit. "Excuse me; I need to go throw up." She ran from the computer with her hand pressed to her mouth. Her other hand knocked the laptop off the desk and it closed when it tumbled to the ground, disconnecting them.

…

"Hey Mattie, it's almost Christmas, you know."

"Let's get through Thanksgiving, first."

"And I'm going to be due pretty much any day by then." She rested her hands on her protruding stomach.

"And?"

"Do I really need to spell it out? Come visit me! I want my two best guys to be around when Nora gets here! Tell Near you're taking a vacation," she said, answering his next question.

Matt looked at her, a smile playing on his lips. "I can see if I can. Near can figure out how to deal without me. Yeah, I haven't seen you in person in ages! I'll see if I can be there by the twentieth. You know what? Plan on it."

"Yay!" Linda cheered. "Now I can't wait!" There was a knock on her door and she sighed. "We'll make arrangements later. Kyle's here to escort me to our next project. I may be almost eight months pregnant, but I can still paint."

"Alright then. Bye Linda," Matt called as she stood in her living room, pulling on her coat.

"Bye Mattie!" She waved at him with a smile and closed the lid.

Matt sat back. He was going to L.A. The city of angels. L.A. was where Mello was. The cogs turned in his head, though he forced himself not to get too excited. What were the chance that, out of the nearly four million people there, he'd run into the one person he was looking for?

**A/N: **Whew! Longest chapter so far, and bunches of plot development. Looks like Linda's makin' a life for herself out there. Sorry if the timeskips between each conversation are confusing. ^^"

So, I combined a couple of the chapters I had planned, so the countdown had dropped to one! Be excited, be very excited. ;)

Leave a review, lovelies, it'll make my day! :D Thanks for reading!


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N: **Sorry it's been a while. Not only has it been the last week before the play this upcoming weekend, it's been a pretty suckish Monday with a death in the family. But hey, it happens, especially when someone smokes almost his entire life, into his seventies. It's not unlikely he'd die of lung cancer. Anywho, sorry the chapter isn't as long as I'd hoped, but this is definitely my favorite so far, for reasons you will come to know. Just a warning now, there's a bit more swearing in this chappie than the others. Enjoy, and reviews make my day! :D

**X**

"Kyle?" Matt scrunched his eyebrows together when he saw the brunette on the other end of the video call.

He nodded quickly. "Linda's gone into early labor; she told me to call you," he spoke rapidly. "Everything's going alright, but she wanted you to know. She's asleep right now, some of the meds made her drowsy," He explained.

Matt listened intently. "Alright, thanks Kyle."

"It's not a prob—" The redhead hung up.

…

"Now boarding flight 4319 to Los Angeles in Gate 7," A voice spoke over the intercom. The gamer toted his laptop case and readjusted his goggles as he boarded the plane.

…

The intercom shook Matt from his nap as their descent was announced. He buckled his seatbelt and began to stow away his laptop. He'd kept it out just in case Linda called him. There had been no sign of the artist.

He hurried through LAX and out onto the streets. The damp night was stifling when paired with the heat of southern California, even in November. He walked along the sidewalk, trying to flag down a cab. It seemed as if all of them had someone in them, and none pulled over.

"Fuck," He mumbled as another yellow taxi splashed by him. He looked around in the rain, holding his bag above his fiery hair. His goggled fogged up and he pulled them off his face in an attempt to see. What street was he on? Shit, which hospital was Linda at? He hadn't thought much to ask.

Matt pulled over to the edge of an alleyway and lowered himself onto a cardboard box. He tugged his laptop from its case and immediately connected to Linda's computer. The connection didn't reach; her laptop must have been off. "Fuck a duck, Linda."

"Hey, that's a pretty piece of technology you've got there," A voice commented slyly from the dark alleyway.

"Yeah, nice comp," Another echoed.

"Get your own, assholes." Matt rose quickly, but a tall dirty-blonde man grabbed his arm with an iron grip, yanking him back roughly into the dank alley. His laptop tumbled to the ground, and he gritted his teeth, helpless in the guy's grip.

The first gangster with bright red hair rivaling Matt's chuckled. "Funny. Nah, I've got my eye on a particular machine." He picked up Matt's discarded laptop and wiped a piece of dirt from the top. "I think I'll take this one."

"Fuck you, give it back!" He thrashed around in the taller gangster's grip and managed to drive a hard elbow straight into his chest. He doubled over, allowing the hacker to escape the crushing hold.

Matt threw himself at the other redhead, kicking out at his kneecap. He pulled his leg back nonchalantly and hopped to the side, holding the computer over his head. "Now, now. You don't want me to have to hurt you." His chin tilted upward smugly, and the next thing he knew, Matt saw stars.

…

Matt blinked his eyes open. "Dude, are you alright?" A blurry image of almost white eyes loomed over him. He tucked his chin to his chest, trying to retreat further into the darkness he had just emerged from. His head pounded incessantly, and even the light of this guy's eyes in the relatively black alley threatened to tear the seams of his forehead apart. He put a hand to his forehead and sighed exasperatedly when he drew back drying blood.

"If having a hole in your head counts as 'alright,' then I'm fucking dandy." His throat screamed for water to quell the sandpapery feeling.

"Sorry, man," He grabbed Matt's hand and helped him sit up. The sudden rush of blood to his head made his vision twirl and he couldn't tell which way was up. He presumed it was the side the rain was being poured down from.

"Unless you're the prick who jumped me, don't apolo…" He stopped midsentence. Darkness edged his vision and he fell unconscious once more.

…

"Matt…?" There was a soft shaking at his shoulder. "_Matt!_" The shaking transitioned to something that could quite possibly rival an earthquake ranking a twelve on the Richter scale. "Fuck, Mattie, open your damn eyes!"

The redhead's eyelids slowly slid upward at his name—but more so the voice that said it.

"…Mello?"


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N: **Sorry this took a bit longer than usual. My computer was infected with a virus on Sunday, and it was only back in commission earlier today. Since I lost a bit of this chapter, I've been procrastinating on studying about the French Revolution and instead catching up on this. Enjoy, and be sure to leave a review! Y'all know they make my day. ;)

XXX

"…_Mello?"_

"_Yes, _Matt. It's me."

The hacker's energy surged back in a thunderous wave, allowing him to all but jump from where he was lying to clutch at his old friend's—_boy_friend?— back. Mello held him too. "Get out," He ordered sternly through his teeth, without letting go of Matt, and there was a click as the door closed behind the visitor.

"Don't wake up, don't wake up," Matt murmured over and over to himself, digging his nose into warm, chocolate-y smelling black leather.

"This isn't a dream," Mello let out a breath, "I hope to God."

Matt's sudden burst of energy failed him, and he fell back onto whatever he was laying on—a bed, by the feel of it. He looked up at Mello, into the same icy blue eyes as five years ago. Before he could do anything more, Mello attacked him, crushing his lips against Matt's. There were no words, just the passionate interlacing of their tongues. Before long, Mello decided to come up for air and fell onto the bed next to the hacker.

Matt held onto him like there was no tomorrow. The heat radiated between them, and Matt felt himself drifting off again. _No,_ he thought urgently, _If I fall asleep now… _The coherent thought never entered his head, but the feeling was real: _I'm afraid he won't be there when I wake up._

Mello ran his fingers through damp red hair. The half-conscious gamer focused on the touch with each pass as the other half of his brain finally succumbed to sleep.

…

A pillow bounced of the redhead's face. He groaned. "Wake up, lazy ass. You've been sleeping for nearly sixteen hours now."

Matt squinted against the dying afternoon light. He cleared his throat. "Well I _did _just spend a very damp and cold night in an alley. Mostly unconscious."

"No shit?" Mello asked sarcastically.

"Shit."

The blond leaned over the queen-sized bed to look Matt in the eye. "Look, I know you're tired, and I know you'll want to catch up, but I need your skills. The race is on, and there's no way in Hell I'm letting Near get to Kira before I do."

"And this can't wait?" Though it was more of a statement, Mello shook his head. "I could sleep another day away," Matt complained, burying his head in the pillows.

Mello pushed himself up with muscular arms and walked around the bed. "I can't help that the Mafia's hackers suck. Don't make me say it."

The redhead looked up and rolled over. His deep blue eyes were unprotected by his goggles, which sat dejected on the night stand. "Say what? That I'm the best hacker in the world and that the big bad Mello actually _needs_ me?"

"Yes, I actually need you," He admitted, nodding. He stood next to the groggy gamer and brought another pillow down on his head.

Matt grabbed the pillow and pulled it from his hands. He fastened his hands around the blonde's wrists and said, "Take a break and talk to me. It's been so long."

"Can't. Near—"

"Forget about Near for a while. I can hack anything within an hour. A little time off won't matter," Matt said.

Mello considered this. He growled to himself and crawled over the redhead, purposely digging and elbow into his stomach. "If you were anyone else, I'd have dragged your ass out of bed and started a caffeine drip hours ago."

"Lucky me!"

"You are, asshole."

"Oh, the love," Matt sat up and pulled the blankets around him. "So."

"So. What was it like at Wammy's after I left?" Mello asked, avoiding eye contact by examining his gloves.

Matt knew it was coming. "It was pretty much the same. Maybe a bit quieter," He nodded and blurted, "Linda took it really hard, you leaving." His eyes widened as a gasp escaped his lips. "Linda!"

Mello raised an eyebrow as Matt ripped back the covers and stood. He paused a moment to hold his head, but grabbed his goggles nonetheless. Mello grabbed his arms from behind. "Whoa, easy there. Where the fuck do you think you're going?"

The gamer shook himself out of the blonde's grip and crossed the room to retrieve his vest. "Linda's the reason I'm here. She's having a kid—" He checked the digital clock on the night table, "—Well, any time now, really. I have to get to the hospital."

Mello gritted his teeth at the thought of lost time, but nodded. "Let's go." He pushed him out of the room and taking the lead.

As they weaved through the halls, Matt glanced around. In one room, the same guy with the light-colored eyes sat lazily playing Rock Band. He glanced up when they passed and flashed a grin. "Who is that guy?"

"Kilik."

"Wow, Soul Caliber fan boy?" Matt laughed at the name. "I'll have to thank him sometime…"

Mello nodded and they finally emerged from the building. Matt glanced at the cherry red sports waiting for them. A man handed Mello the keys, but the gamer groaned a bit. "Can—can I drive? Please? This is like, an exact replica of my car in Ridge Racers," It took all of his self-restraint not to start drooling and obsessively caressing it.

"Nope," Mello slid in behind the wheel and Matt dejectedly took shotgun. Not a moment later, they were off with a rev of the engine.

Once they got going, the questions began again. "So what were you saying about Linda? I mean, besides the fact that she's in labor," Mello shook his head slightly.

Matt looked to the blonde, returning to his sullen thoughts. "Well, she took it pretty hard, with you leaving and all."

"Did she? What about you?"

"Linda says I did too, but I don't believe her. The time's actually been a blur for me," He shrugged. "I just want to know _why._"

Mello paused. "You know, I didn't _want_ to leave you behind. I really didn't. I just thought that if I had stayed with you, I wouldn't have been able to concentrate on the Kira case. You know the way my emotions can, uh, _flare. _It was impulse, and I didn't realize how much I'd need you… and miss you," he admitted, tightening his grip on the steering wheel.

There was a pressing silence as each waited for the other to speak. Matt took a deep breath. "Okay. I lied," Mello glanced at him questioningly. "I was devastated when you left. The fact that you didn't even say goodbye was the worst."

"I'm sorry Matt. You don't even know—"

"No, _you_ don't even know," He snapped. "I went after you. Linda had to follow me and drag me home from the airport."

The blond started and stared at the highway disbelievingly. "You followed me all the way to Heathrow?"

"Yeah. And I got there, too. If those damned security guards had let me through customs, I could've caught you," He paused and cursed under his breath. "If Linda hadn't come to get me, I could have just died out there in that alley. She's saved me from myself multiple times over these last few years."

"What do you mean?"

"I tried to commit suicide," Matt stated plainly. "Well, I was going to. Linda took the sleeping pills I had, _and_ emptied my closet of all the belts I owned. She could see it was coming and she stopped me."

"God, Matt," Mello breathed. "I really had no idea."

"No, you didn't." He paused. "I kissed her," he blurted out suddenly.

The blond froze and looked away slightly, blocking the redhead from his peripheral vision. "It's all fair, I guess. I _did _leave you," he said bitterly.

The car blew through a red light, resulting in a chorus of honks from oncoming cars. Matt leaned over the center console and planted a kiss on Mello's cheek. He swerved ever-so-slightly and sputtered at him, casting glances from the road before him to his best friend beside him. "What? I thought—but you just said—"

"It was one time. I still love you. I always have and I always will, however fucking cheesy that may sound," The hacker stared out the window at the bustling L.A. life outside.

There was a brief silence. "…Yeah, that sounds pretty 'fucking cheesy.'"

…

Not too long later, they pulled into the hospital. As they stood in the elevator, something occurred to Matt. "Mello. How did you know which hospital to go to?"

The blonde smirked. "Well, I may or may not have had contact with Linda recently."

"You asshole! You met up with her? When?" Matt gaped.

"I ran into her—quite literally, I might add—at a grocery store a few weeks ago. She and Kyle were out shopping, and I was picking up some brain food—you know, chocolate, microwave veggie pizzas, Coco Pebbles—" He cut himself off as he started to drool. "Anyway, she nearly barreled me over with a trolley and we talked for a bit and eventually we made plans for you to come see us. Of course, neither of us counted on you coming early, _or_ getting jumped," He explained.

"Oh my god, you guys. You don't know how much I love you two."

Before either of them could say any more, the elevator shuddered to a stop. He slid his hand into Mello's and stepped out.

When they reached the lobby, Kyle was waiting for them. He and Matt hugged. "Great to finally meet you in person!" The gamer laughed and the artist chauffeured them into the room.

"I also texted Kyle when I found you," Mello whispered into Matt's ears as they hurried through the halls of the hospital. "Linda doesn't know."

The redhead couldn't help but beam as his eyes set on Linda's sleeping figure. He glanced around. Mello and Linda, his two favorite people, were finally in the same room with him again. That hadn't happened in five years, almost to the day!

Linda's eyes blinked open when Matt leaned down to give her a hug. He kissed her forehead and her eyes lit up. "Mattie!" She exclaimed, and cleared her throat. She grabbed him around the neck, pulling him down again. He laughed and hugged her once more. When he tried to stand up, she growled at him, "Hey, I'm not done!" and squeezed him yet again.

Finally, Linda released him. He stepped back to Mello waiting patiently behind him. When the artist saw the blonde, she squealed and clapped her hands over her mouth. "Go ahead," Matt waved at her.

"I told you so I told you so—I. Told. You. So!" She wagged a finger at the redhead, then looked at Mello. "Come here," she ordered him, stretching out her arms. "Lay the ego aside for a moment and gimme a hug, dammit."

Mello smirked with a roll of his eyes before hugging her as well. Linda whispered into his ear, "You beat me to him."

"Maybe I'm finally first, for once," He scowled a bit before standing beside Matt again. "As much as you like this little reunion, I really have to get back on the case," He said to no one in particular before turning to the redhead. "You stay with them. If the Mafia finds out I have something remotely similar to a family, you're all done for," He stated plainly, glancing at the closed door.

"Whoa, whoa, wait. The fucking _Mafia?_" Matt grabbed onto the blonde's arm.

"Yeah, the _fucking Mafia." _He shook him off, though he pecked him on the cheek as he backed out. "I'll explain when I see you next." One hand toyed with his rosary as he stood in front of the door. "Text me when Nora gets here," He smirked and was gone.


	25. Chapter 25

**A/N: **Fanfiction's being annoying and sporadically bars me from logging in, so while y'all were supposed to get this yesterday, you've got it today. :D Read, enjoy, review!

XXX

"So, where have _you_ been, Mello?" Kilik asked as the blonde passed by in the hallway.

Mello backpedaled and plopped down on the couch beside him. "Nowhere you need to know."

"You're gay, aren't you?"

Mello raised an eyebrow and looked at him with a scoff. "What makes you say that?"

The brunette shook his head from side to side as he played the mock instrument. "Maybe the way that Matt guy was hanging off you. Or, the kissing sounds coming from your room after I left."

"You bastard." Anger began to course through Mello's veins and he stood up, kicking the cords from the Wii and effectively stopping Kilik's gaming. He stared up at him with his distinctively light eyes full of fear. He pulled out his Beretta from his hip and pointed it directly at the other man, point blank. "You do _not_ eavesdrop on me."

Next thing he knew, there was a defined, slightly singed hole in the leather sofa beside Kilik's head. He shuddered. "God, why haven't I learned by now?" He mumbled to himself as he dropped to his knees to plug the game console back in.

"I don't know. But I suggest you start soon," Mello sneered from the doorway. He swung around the corner, calling back after him, "Don't bug me. I'll be working."

"Yeah, we all know what you'll be working, all right," Kilik snorted to himself, flexing his arm with a smirk.

…

"Fuck! Another one, are you serious?" Mello shouted at the small sheepish boy across the video call.

"Indeed. We believe there is yet another Kira up an about. I'm calling him X-Kira." He added, picking up a small finger puppet of something that looked like a wild-west bandit. Near fiddled with his white hair, staring off at something unseen. Mello groaned, and had he been in the vicinity of a wall, one could be sure he was bashing his head against it. But, that required moving from his rather comfortable position on the couch in the living room adjoining his bedroom. "I also believe that this second L is in fact the first Kira."

"Great."

Near paused. "Mello, has Matt happened to cross your path recently?"

The blonde held his breath as his pulse surged at the mention of his name. "Yes."

"And where is he now? Sleeping?"

"No. He's with… a friend."

"So he's with Linda? She is the only 'friend' I imagine you two have in Los Angeles as of now," Near deducted flawlessly, setting down X-Kira.

Mello ran a few fingers through his blonde hair. "Yeah."

"What did he say about your appearance?"

"He didn't even mention the scar." There was a silence as Mello ran his fingers delicately over the burns coating the left side of his face. "I'd presume he thought it was older. Anatomy and physiology of the human body wasn't exactly his forte, so it's understandable that he couldn't tell it was new," He reasoned. "Then again, I only saw him for an hour or two at most."

"Tell him I said hello."

"I'm not a messenger, assmunch," Mello spat at the sheep. Something in his pocket vibrated, and he stood. "I'm leaving," With no further words, he disconnected his call with old Wammy's House classmate.

Checking the phone the inner breast pocket of his leather vest, what he expected greeted his eyes: A text from Kyle warning that Linda had just been carted off to a delivery room. He slid his laptop into its case and was off. He shouldered his way through the door of the apartment building and he was on his way toward the hospital.

…

The exciting part was over, and Linda rested in the hospital bed. Nora had arrived normally, and had already been cleaned up and checked. Kyle rubbed the back of her hand and Matt sat opposite him, just gazing at his childhood friend.

The exhausted artist looked up at him. "I hope this is all worth the twenty-seven hours of labor," she mumbled with a sigh.

"It is. Don't worry," The redhead reassured her.

Kyle pulled out his smartphone and glanced at the screen. He made eye contact with Matt and nodded his head to the side, toward the door. "He's on his way up."

Matt couldn't hold back a grin as he slipped out into the hallway and made his way down to the lobby. Sure enough, the blonde appeared from the elevator. "Well that was a waste of a trip. What was that, two hours?" He complained as the gamer took him in a hug.

"It's a sign," Matt hissed creepily, but returned to his normal voice. "Come on." He pulled him in the general direction of the nursery.

They stood before the glass window looking over a dozen or so sleeping babies. There was another man ogling at their newborn children with their daughter. He pulled his child close at the sight of the pair entering the room. Mello just snorted as they walked around them.

Matt pointed eagerly through the glass. "That's her. Nora Renee Wammy." A tiny, pink, dark-haired baby sat asleep, pink pacifier bouncing slowly in her mouth.

"I still can't believe she kept her last name," Mello commented, quirking his mouth. "It sounds odd when tacked onto hers."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. Let's go see her," He grabbed the other's hand and pulled him toward her room.

The pair slipped into the room. Kyle stopped whispering to Linda, the grin fading from his face. The artist looked up at her approaching friends. Mello smirked at her. "Well you look like shit."

"Just what I need to hear. Are you PMS-ing again, Mels?" She shot back at him with a chuckle.

He scowled and shoved his hands in the pockets of his feathery black jacket. He resisted the urge to unwrap a chocolate bar stowed there, in fear of possibly proving Linda's point.

Linda looked between the two men standing before her. "You two go catch up," She closed her eyes and nodded at them. "I'm going to go pass out." She looked up at Kyle and smiled, then directed her half-hooded gaze to Matt and Mello again.

"Are you sure?" Matt asked.

"Yeah, go. I'm not gonna be much fun here. When I get back home, I'll find a way to contact you, okay?" She closed her eyes again and started to drift off.

The gamer nodded as Mello took his hand. "Alright. Sweet dreams," He called as he was swept out the door.


	26. Chapter 26

**A/N: **Sorry it's been a while. ^^" One would think on vacation week, I'd be writing _more_ but I guess I'm just bass ackwards. Whatever. Here you are my lovelies~ Fluffy fluff!

Reviews make me day! :D

XXX

Matt sighed as he buckled his seat belt. "So, what have you been doing?"

"More than I'd like to admit," Mello fingered the rosary around his neck with one hand while he started the car with the other. "Being involved with the Mafia doesn't exactly earn you Brownie points with God."

"About that," He turned is his seat, watching Mello as he looked over his shoulder and backed out of the parking space. "Why the hell are you even involved with them?"

"Well, I _was_ they're leader. Kind of. A couple of weeks ago, the Task Force of the NPA stormed our base and I blew the place to hell. Though I'm sure you've noticed by now, I didn't exactly get this scar from a paper cut." He turned his head away, feeling self-conscious for a moment about the large portion of scar tissue covering the left side of his face, shoulder, and chest.

Matt examined his fingernails. "I had been wondering about that."

"My own idiotic fault," the blonde admitted. "Worked, though. Everyone else turned tail and ran. Kilik was the only one willing to come in and get me," He gritted his teeth and tightened his grip on the steering wheel.

The redhead dipped his head again. "So what now? You still involved with the Mafia or not?"

"Well," Mello began, only to stop and exhale. "I'm fairly sure they think I'm dead. Who really knows? They could be knocking on our door any time soon with a pistol down your throat. The Mafia's hackers and, shall we say, 'research' team may suck, but that's only in comparison to you." Matt grinned. "Otherwise, they're pretty damn good. Kilik was actually one of them. He's a virtual copy of you, minus our friendship, the hair, and a little skill."

"So you're not _with_ him or anything?"

"Hell no. I just crashed at his old apartment till I could find you. Actually, he only found out that I'd ever been _with you_ earlier. Fucking eavesdropper," Mello growled to himself. "You two'll get along swimmingly. Just don't get too attached to him; we may not be sticking around here too long."

Matt shot him a confused look before the car swung into the parking lot of a shabby old apartment building. The car definitely looked out of place. "What do you mean 'we may not be sticking around?'"

He slid out of the car and leaned back down to meet the gamer's questioning gaze. "The Kira case is coming to an end." The door slammed closed.

Matt sputtered incoherently as Mello toted him once again through the hallways of the building. When he finally gathered his thoughts, all he could think to say was, "We're going to Japan?"

"Yep."

Mello pushed open the door to Kilik's apartment. There was a small living room area with a long hallway branching off to the right. He heard shuffling and not a moment later, the light-eyed guy stuck his head out of a door about halfway down. He grinned and met them in the living room. "Hey, nice to finally see you for a minute."

"Likewise," Matt offered, plopping down on a couch with the back covered with a dark sheet. Mello hung up his jacket and sat next to him, unwrapping a chocolate bar. "Actually, it's pretty good just to be conscious."

Kilik laughed. "I hear that. You were pretty beat up out there. Y'know you got a nice gash on your forehead, right?"

Matt put a hand to his temple. Sure enough, there were five stitches holding the wound together. "Well Hell." He shrugged and ran a hand through his hair. He sighed. "So," he drawled. "I take it you're a Soul Calibur dork?"

"Eh heh, yeaaaah," he looked around the room, avoiding any such eye contact. "I used to fight with a bo staff, so people started calling me that. Doesn't help that I had the biggest thing for Xianghua."

"What, did your sister look like her or something," Matt jested.

Kilik laughed and looked to Mello. "Where did you pick this guy up? I like him."

Mello ignored him with a roll of eyes his and a snap of his chocolate. He slid an arm along the back of the couch and brought one foot up on the seat. He dug the keys of the sports car from his pocket and held them up. "Hey, Kilik, you should go get us some Yoohoo," He said, not even trying to mask the glower on his face.

He swallowed and stood up. "I get it, I get it," he snatched them from his hand and tugged his own brown pullover from the coatrack. "I'll be back."

As soon as the door closed, Matt curled up under Mello's outstretched arm. The blonde leaned downward and kissed the top of his head. "I find it a bit hard to believe that you were part of the Mafia."

"Believe it. I located a rival gang for them a year or two ago. Ross took me in, and soon I was practically running the place." He paused, closing his eyes. "I've done more since then than I'd like to admit."

"I can imagine."

"I doubt it. I've done some pretty nasty deeds." His hand reached for his rosary.

"But do you regret any of them?"

Mello laughed under his breath and opened his eyes. "You sound like a therapist."

"Well, I did spend some time in therapy after my whole incident…" Matt offered a half of a smile.

He inhaled, "Think Machiavelli. The end justifies the means. If it gets me where I want to be, I've no regrets. If I could go back and do it all again though, the only thing I would do differently is take you with me."

"I wish you had done that in the first place."

"Me too."

For a while, they sat in silence, simply enjoying each other's presence. Matt closed his eyes and leaned against the blond. Mello buried his nose in his red hair. He sighed and murmured, "I'm so glad this hasn't changed at all."

"Me too," Matt breathed in his clean, chocolate-y scent. He inhaled, "So I hear Kilik has Rock Band 3?"

Mello pushed the redhead off his shoulder and rolled his eyes. "Yeah," he said with a chuckle. Their eyes met and the unspoken request hung in the air. "Okay, okay, fine." Mello gave in, and Mat excitedly jumped up and ran in the direction of where he had seen Kilik.

By the time the owner of the game returned from his expedition for chocolate flavored drink, he found the two in a deep concentration as they battled it out like the old days. On one long note, Kilik tossed a bottle of Yoohoo at each of them, both taking one hand off the guitar to catch it.

And that's where they sat for the rest of the afternoon: playing Rock Band and sipping Yoohoo.


	27. Chapter 27

**A/N: **And here's yet another lovely installment of Score One! Okay, now I'm actually going to go work on the essay that's due in three days. Heh.

Reviews make me day! :D

XXX

Mello accompanied Matt to the art studio across the city when Linda called them. They got out of the cab and stepped up the landing of the large apartment complex. They climbed the stairs, Mello in lead, up to the fifth floor, room two. The blonde waved the redhead in front of him and he knocked hesitantly on the door.

A moment later, the brunette appeared at the door. She looked through the peep hole and with a squeal opened the door. "Mattie!" She launched herself at the redhead and kissed him on the cheek. He was laughing and hugged her tightly. "Glad to see you while I'm actually fully awake."

"Me too." He smirked.

She dragged both of them into her apartment. She spun around to look at them as Matt took in the suite. There were paintings and drawings all framed and lining the light green and white walls. Mello had been there before, so he stood there, hands stuffed in his coat pockets, watching Matt.

"Is _everything_ here designer?" He asked, snorting a bit.

"Well, it kind of helps when you _are_ the designer, but yeah," She turned the coffee maker on and skipped across the white carpet to the pastel blue couch. She patted the seat beside her, and Matt sat down. Mello crossed the small living room area and settled into the matching plush chair.

"They must pay you pretty well for all of this," he marveled.

"It's definitely nothing to sneeze at."

"I can tell."

"_So,_" she said sharply, "What happened to your head?" She nudged his side and nodded to his forehead.

Matt sat back and sighed, smiling. "Well, I got here a couple days ago. I guess it wasn't a good idea to pull my laptop out in a dark alleyway. Some thugs thought it was nice and it'd be good to take a couple of whacks at me. They jacked my laptop, assholes," Linda looked at him concerned, but he waved her off. "Eh, it's not like they'll actually be able to get into it. I'll get it back later. Anyway, one of them clocked me in the head with something and knocked me unconscious. See, I match you now!" He moved his hair away from a spot on the side of his head so the considerably sized bump and four stitches holding closed a nice gash was completely visible. He touched the spot on her forehead he'd cracked open so many years ago.

She lowered his hand and wrinkled her nose. "That is so gross!"

"Maybe. But I spent a good couple hours out there until Mello's buddy Kilik picked me up and brought me back to him. Why is it that I always seem to have to be dragged from an alleyway?" He shook his head.

Linda laughed and leaned into him. Mello sighed, readjusting himself in the chair. Matt glanced around again, noticing the quiet baby monitor on the sill of a window overlooking L.A. "Nora sleeping?"

"For a moment, thank God," The brunette affirmed with an exhausted roll of her eyes. "Not even two days home and I'm already a little frayed at the edges." She sighed and pulled a hand through her hair, eyes widening.

Matt grinned. "It's all worth it though. I _will _have to see this adorable child, I hope you know."

"Very well aware of this. Once she starts screaming again, see how adorable she is, then."

Mello smirked, giving a loud chuckle at Mat's intimidated look.

Linda nodded, dropping her head onto her friend's shoulder. "Hey, I'm glad to see you still wear this thing." She picked a piece of dust from his wool vest.

"Well, it's warm. I love it."

There was a brief silence. "So, are you two still…?" She pointed between Matt and Mello.

They both smiled as Mello nodded. "Yeah." Matt tilted his head at Linda. "What about you? You're still with Kyle, right?"

"Yep," She grinned and sat up, thinking of her fellow artist. "Actually, he should be home. Want him to come up?"

"I say go get him. I need to make sure he's suitable for you in person. More than an hour in the hospital."

"Okay, now you're starting to sound like a big brother or something. Must I remind you that I'm older than you?" She stood.

"Hey, I'm older than both of you, so let's not even get started on this," Mello interjected. Even if it was only a month or two, he couldn't resist reminding them. Linda slipped out the door and Matt stood up and stretched.

The blond watched her go. "She's like a four-year old kid with her first friend. I hate kids."

"Well _I_ happened to like kids. The little ones are all adorable and innocent."

"But they poop and slobber and just ooze snot," He said, wrinkling his nose. "I mean, yeah, they're cute, but as soon as they start crying or smell, I'm outta there. Not my problem anymore." He plopped back down on the couch, tucking one foot up on the cushion.

"Well you poop and slobber and ooze snot, it's just that you know how to control it." He winked and chuckled. Matt sat next to Mello and put his head on his shoulder. "So I'm guessing you wouldn't want kids."

"Hell no. I hate this world, why would I want to bring anyone else up in it?"

"Hn."

Mello ignored his doubtful humph and continued ranting. "I mean, all I really want after I kick Kira to the curb is to get the Hell out of here. The whole world is so fucking corrupt; it's not even funny anymore. After all of this, all I want is to be…" He shook his head, finding no other words. "I don't know."

Matt was silent for a moment. Mello fiddled with his rosary. "What about me? Am I worth you living in a world that's 'so fucking corrupt'?"  
>"Every second," He kissed him.<p>

"Then why would you say that?"

"I don't know, Matt. If I had a choice between being with God and you, though, I'd pick you. I'm not going anywhere until we could both meet Him together."

"Well, that may be a little hard for me, y'know, being agnostic and all."

"He'll still accept you for who you are, whether you believe in Him or not. That's why I'm not worried about anything. God still loves me no matter what I do or who I am. It's why I'm not afraid to love you or to do the things I need to do to bring down Kira."

"Either way, with us as a team, we're not leaving this Earth any time soon," Matt said with a grin.

"Got that right," Mello pressed his lips against the redhead's. The hacker pulled back and reached for his coffee. He took a sip just as Linda returned with the tall young man with short, spiky brown hair.

"Hi," He said, observing the new character on the couch. "Hey Mello."

"Hey Kyle," Mello nodded.

Matt stood up. "Nice to finally meet you outside a crisis," He stuck out his hand.

"Likewise," He took the handshake. "So this is the great Matt I've heard so much about."

"Yep!" Linda beamed. "I've known him for a _very_ long time now. What, nearly thirteen years by now?" She looked to Matt.

"I've lost count."

The group sat down in the living room again, but this time, Linda cuddled into Kyle on the couch. Mello reclaimed his stake at the chair, and Matt sat on the edge of the couch with his old friend. "So, Matt. Is there a last name to go with that?"

He shook his head. "Nope."

Kyle looked surprised. "Well, uh, okay then."

Linda laughed. "Still not giving it out?"

"I'm not taking the chance."

"So I guess you're not a Kira supporter?"

"Not a chance. The guy's an insane psychopath with a god complex," Matt said simply, crossing his arms with a glance to Mello. His eyebrows bounced on his forehead. "Why, are you?"

Kyle shook his head with a laugh. "No. It's just like you said. Not only is this completely and utterly twisted and sick, but once it's over, crime will just continue at an even greater rate than it was before. There will be no more fear to hold us all down."

"Understandable."

"Well, how about we swerve away from freakish mass murderers for the moment," Linda interrupted, waving a hand. She had never been one to be a Kira, or Anti-Kira activist. She'd prefer to just avoid the whole mess, just as Matt usually did. He had his reasons right then, though.

Nora agreed. Not a moment later, the wailing echoed through the baby monitor as well as through the wooden door beside the kitchen. Linda threw her head back at the ceiling before glancing at Matt. "You wanted to see her?" She nodded to the door.

Matt laughed nervously. "I'll be back," He said, rising from the couch. Mello rolled his eyes at him and grinned.

A moment later, the gamer returned with a small, pink, and whiny bundle. The dark-haired baby had quieted as the redhead picked her up, and he smirked. "Hello, Nora. It's Uncle Mattie," He smiled, cooing at the uninterested baby. He took his place beside Linda, and pulled down her blanket to see her in all her newborn glory.

Nora responded with a big toothless yawn of baby breath right into his face. Linda burst out laughing, and Mello and Kyle chuckled along. "Oh god, there ain't nothing adorable about that," He turned his head away. When he looked back, big innocent brown eyes looked up at him, seemingly distracted. "Aw, she looks just like you, poor little thing."

Linda punched him in the shoulder. "And I am most definitely adorable."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever floats your boat," Matt teased back. He lightly ran a thumb through the tiny child's already fluffy brown hair. "Nah, she's beautiful."

Soon enough, Nora drifted off in "Uncle Matt's" arms and was passed back to Linda. Mello stood behind Matt as they hovered by the door.

"You two are welcome here any time, okay? Bring your laptop next time, Mello! That way you can actually stick around and get some work done, too." Linda smiled taking them both in a hug. Kyle stood back, Nora snoozing in his arms.

Mello nodded, sliding his hand into Matt's. "Will do."

Matt tightened his grip on the blonde's hand and he waved with his free one. "I'll most likely be back here tomorrow. Sound good?"

Linda nodded surely. "Definitely. See you then, Mattie!" She called after them as the redhead backed out to the apartment, pulling the door with him.


	28. Chapter 28

**A/N: **This chapter's short; I admit it. But it makes me laugh, so I hope it will do the same to you. C: Oh, and any opinions on my little OC there, Kilik? If you like him, I'm going to be dedicating one chapter to him soon. Just for a bit of background. (Eh, who am I kidding? Even if you _don't_ like him, I'll be doing that. C: ) So, be prepared!

Reviews very much make my day. ;) Enjoy!

XXX

It was midday when they returned to the apartment. Kilik was in his usual position: sideways, on the couch, and Easy Mac on his chest. This time, though, he was actually watching television rather than playing a video game.

Matt stood behind him, leaning on the rather beaten leather couch. "NCIS?"

Kilik nodded absently, light eyes never leaving the screen.

"Matt." Mello called him from the hallway, and the redhead followed his friend like a duckling after its mother. The door to the bedroom on the left end of the hallway closed behind them.

The gamer plopped down on the rather tall bed and looked at Mello, who was currently glaring at a laptop screen. "What did you want?"

The blonde turned away from the screen. "I need you to do a bit of surveillance for me."

"Ooh, I like espionage," He said with a faux wild look in his eyes.

"Anyway," Mello continued, "I need you to watch over Misa Amane and her friend there."

Matt sat back on the bed, kicking off his shoes and crossing his arms behind his head. "I can do that." He closed his eyes for a moment before sitting back up suddenly. "Shit. I need to get my laptop back."

"You can just hack into it from here. You're a dork, you should know your IP address off the top of your head." Mello gestured to his own laptop and smirked.

Matt groaned. "Well, yeah," he drawled. "But that requires brain power. When we go to Linda's tomorrow, I'll get into it from there; our computers are linked anyway."

The blonde glanced at the clock beside him on the desk. It was getting to be 7:00. He growled to himself. More time lost because of laziness. "Whatever. You better pray you can do it quickly. I need to be doing other things than staring at some ditzy chick all day. I bet you'd enjoy that," He chuckled to himself. "You can at least pretend you're straight."

The gamer sat forward on the bed, eyes narrowed. A smirk played on his lips before he jumped up and, growling, grabbed Mello by the waist and dragged him back onto the bed. The chocoholic gave a shocked yelp and then laughed as Matt kissed his collar bone. "Well now there's not a chance," he clarified his earlier statement playfully.

…

Just after Matt abandoned him and his television program ended, the Soul Calibur wannabe decided to replenish his energy with a short nap.

From the room adjacent, Kilik was jolted from his late-afternoon nap with something thumping against the wall. Groggily, he lifted his head from being buried in his pillow to listen for a moment._ Wait, I'm not supposed to do that,_ he thought to himself before dropping back into the blankets. With a heavy sigh, he rolled off the bed, landing smoothly on his feet.

Throwing a lazy glance at the digital alarm clock on his nightstand reading 7:38, he tugged a shirt over his white tank top and waltzed out of his room. He knocked on his roommate's door as he opened it—something he would very quickly learn not to do—and was met with an angry shout and a pillow to the face. "Ah, I'll leave you guys alone," He muttered, closing the door again. He ran a hand through his bedhead and grabbed his keys from their place on the counter. "I'm going to get Chinese," He called back down the hall, but there was no answer, only a muffled laugh from beyond the door.


	29. Chapter 29

Kilik had since disappeared from our resident homosexuals' immediate view. In all reality, he was still sleeping in his room at the end of the hall. Matt plucked a leftover crab Rangoon from a take-out box as Mello chauffeured him out the door, laptop bag in hand. In no time, the pair ended up back at Linda's house once more.

The relatively early morning light spilled through the clear window as Linda let them in. Mello immediately set up his computer on the coffee table. Linda stepped back into her room for a moment to retrieve her easel and a sizable ceramic tile.

"What's that for?" Matt asked, nodding his chin at her assembling project.

"I'm going to paint it," she replied absently, flipping her still damp hair over her shoulder. "We've all got one. Actually, everyone else is down in the studio, but since I've got you two and Nora, I'm doing mine up here," She explained as she made another trip across the room to retrieve two paint-splattered tarps from a closet.

Matt helped her put them up against the wall and over the floor. "This doesn't look like it's gonna be a clean project," he said, scrutinizing both the artist and her setup.

She gave him a wry smirk. "Not at all."

"Don't get paint on me," Mello almost growled, coming out of the kitchen with a cup of hot coffee.

"I'll try," Linda smiled cheekily at him.

Nora decided the morning's quiet atmosphere was better off broken, so she began to scream yet again. Matt nodded to Linda and disappeared into the baby's room—formerly Linda's computer room—to quell the newborn's wails.

Mello took a sip from his mug and almost immediately tore open a chocolate bar. His white teeth contrasted with the candy as he snapped a square off, letting it melt in his mouth. He busied himself with tapping away at his keyboard for a moment, squinting at the screen.

Linda made one last trip across the room to retrieve her large tackle box of paints and such from the aforementioned closet. Tightening her grip of one hand, she walked by Mello, glancing over his shoulder.

The blonde blinked as he heard that telltale snap. Unfortunately, he hadn't produced it. He swore there was just a chocolate bar in his hand…

Linda snickered behind him. "Matt," He raised his voice, calling for the gamer. "If you value Linda's life, buffer—_Now._" He leaped from the couch and Linda let out a yelp before scurrying away. Matt laid Nora back in her crib briefly before coming to intercept the standoff in the kitchen. Linda giggled, holding Mello's Hershey bar close to herself, ready to sprint either way if the blonde tried to attack from either side of the island separating them.

Mello growled as Matt grabbed onto his wrists from behind him just as he was about to lunge across the counter to the hysterical artist. "She took my _fucking chocolate,_ Mail," He said seriously, his tone reflected in the fact that he used the ginger's real name.

With an exaggerated not and an audible breath, Matt tried to calm his boyfriend down. "It's okay, Mihael. Breaaaaathe," He drew out the word, a stifled smirk threatening to break through.

"Fuck you," He tried to pull away, but Matt's grip was like iron.

Linda watched on, amused, before sliding the chocolate bar across the white countertop between them. "I love you, Mello," The artist tilted her head cutely before prancing around a struggling ex-Mafia boss and into her daughter's room.

Matt released the blonde and he glared, teeth clenched, at the now closed door. "Fuck you more," he spat, snatching his beloved chocolate from the island and returning to his laptop. "Get over here, you asshole. Get hacking," He nodded to Linda's laptop sitting beside Mello's on the coffee table.

The hacker wiggled into a comfortable position on the couch and lowered his goggles. Linda walked out, Nora cradled in her arm under a light blanket. "Oh, shit just got real. Mattie's got his goggles on," She laughed, taking a seat in the recliner across from them.

"Should you be talking like that in front of your kid? They're impressionable as young'uns, you know," Matt quipped, not looking up from his computer.

"Yeah, yeah, I know," She rolled her eyes but smiled nonetheless.

After a few minutes, Linda held Nora over her shoulder and rubbed her back until the baby burped—and quite loudly. "I'm so proud!" He chuckled, his shoulders shaking with amusement.

"She better not take after you, Mattie," Linda rolled her eyes, rising to return her now rapidly falling asleep baby to her bed. She tapped his forehead with one finger as she passed him, and he flinched.

Once she had left, Mello glanced up from watching Japanese pop star Misa Amane for a moment. He lowered his headphones. "You almost done over there?"

"Uh…" Matt paused for a moment to click something, then carried on, "Yep. I've got its location. Basically. It's near that dumpy Chinese place Kilik got food from last night. Some mediocre hacker's been trying to get into it for the past hour." He sniffed amusedly. "Funny."

Mello glanced over at what was to him mostly gibberish. He shook his head, not trying to decipher it further than an arbitrary glimpse.

"Should I look at them through the web cam? If we're lucky, we might be able to find out who this guy is and we can get him arrested," Matt suggested, lightly elbowing his partner in crime.

The blonde gave a wave of consent. "Sure, whatever you want to do. Just don't get caught; we don't need to drag Linda into this whole mess."

"Right," He hissed, returning to his work. Hooking up his own set of headphones, Matt turned on the web cam on his own laptop from across the city.

He was immediately met with the image of a rather bulky guy scrutinizing whatever he was looking at on the screen. The same redheaded guy leaned on the bulky one's shoulder, watching on. "Well?" The young man with the red hair asked impatiently. "Is it useful or what?"

The elder-looking one resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Working on it, Red. Whoever this guy is, he knows his stuff."

Linda returned into the living room with Nora in one arm and a blanket in the other. She laid her daughter on the floor and pulled a toy arch over her head. She ogled at the colorful spinning plastic and batted a tiny hand at them.

The artist sat back on her heels. She scooted behind the couch and looked over the low back, sliding her head onto Matt's shoulder to see what he was doing. The blood drained from her face. Mello glanced up as this happened, and he shot her a raised eyebrow. She shakily stood.

"Matt."

The hacker tore his sight away from the computer. "What?"

"That's him."

"Who again?"

Linda pointed a quavering finger at the laptop. "He's the one who raped me."

**XXX**

**A/N: **Dun dun duuuuun.

That is all. :)


	30. Chapter 30

When Kilik awoke that same morning at eight, his incredibly awkward roommates were gone. He exhaled thankfully. He had plans for the day, and confrontation wasn't on his list. Shaking the memory of the previous night from his mind, he headed across the hall to the bathroom, towel in hand.

When he finally exited, a large cloud of steam followed. After dressing quickly in worn jeans and a black dress shirt with the sleeves rolled to the elbows, he examined himself in the old vanity in his room. He brushed back his short brown hair with his hand and blinked away any residual sleep from his eyes.

The closet door slid open. Kilik rummaged around for a bit before finally extracting a duffel back and a long, six-foot case. He laid them on his bed and stood at the foot of it, fists on his hips. He stared at them for a moment before, with a steeling inhale, he scooped them up suddenly and swept out the door.

When he realized that Mello had his car, the Soul Calibur junkie set out without complaint on foot. His destination wasn't far; hardly anything was far from his apartment in Los Angeles.

Soon enough, his surroundings began to give off a strong feeling of nostalgia. He took a calming breath as his eyes set on an old oak tree standing sentry over a small, run-down playground. His eyes met the stump of a low branch that had since been trimmed. He bowed his head and hiked his bag up on his shoulder.

_A young boy hung from the lowest branch of the giant tree, his hair swaying dangerously close to a mud puddle. Another boy, slightly older, balanced on a rock jutting from the soft ground. Children laughed. Mothers watched._

As he walked through the familiar neighborhood, Kilik did his best not to look at the structures and buildings around him. Still, he could see all of the reminders of a different time

There was a public library with ancient granite stairs.

_The same two boys, now accompanied with a girl about the age of the elder, sat crowded around a brand new I-Spy book. The youngest boy pointed at the last object, and the older groaned. How couldn't he have seen the clothespin when it was right in front of his eyes?_

There was a Subway having formerly been a flower shop.

_The older boy, now in his teens, shook nervously as the clerk handed him a single purple carnation. The bell rang as he exited the family-owned shop. He strolled through the streets, until he arrived at the girl's house. He knocked on the door and proffered the flower, a nervously sloppy grin on his face. She blushed and accepted the flower with a kiss on his cheek. His face was surprised, dumbfounded, and he too blushed. They laughed._

There was a single charred apartment building.

"_Ben! Andy!" A woman screamed desperately, her voice gravelly and clouded with the smoke that overtook the air. Her cries were drowned out by coughing. The flames engulfed the top floor, obscuring everything until it gave way to nothingness._

"_Mom!"_

_Crash! _Kilik was jolted back to the present as a man dropped a trash bag into a dumpster and let the lid fall closed loudly. He clenched his teeth and swallowed hard before finally pushing through the flood of memories.

With great relief, he approached a relatively small plaza. Cars lined the parking lot, and Kilik slid through them and onto the sidewalk before the businesses. The bells rang as he pushed in one of the doors—one with Japanese kanji printed on the glass.

There was a great shout composed of a dozen or so little voices as Kilik walked in. He leaned the long case against the wall and observed the small herd of children before him.

On the other side of a shoulder-high wall, pairs of kids – no more than eight or nine – punched at the targets the other was holding. With eat hit, they emitted a loud "Hey!"

Kilik grinned and glanced at the clock. It was almost nine; the class would be over soon. He examined the people milling about the large lobby area: mostly parents and siblings, reading, playing with smartphones, or just staring off into space. He directed his attention back to the class when the shouting stopped, and they were beginning to line up.

One by one, the children hopped, skipped, and walked out of the dojo, each bowing as they passed through the wall that separated the matted areas and the lobby. Kilik watched them, until a tall man wearing a black belt and gi sauntered up to the wall, leaning his elbows against it. He smiled widely as his eyes widened with surprised recognition. "Is that you, Benjamin Tracy?"

Kilik simply grinned and nodded.

"You're all grown up, Ben! I haven't seen you around here" he gestured to the large dojo "since you were just a kid. How many years ago was that? Eight, now? And that makes you, what, twenty-five?" The middle-aged man asked, throwing a questioning glance at his former student.

"Yep," He nodded, smile breaking through an attempt at a serious expression. "I'm very glad to see you still teaching, though, Sensei. How've you been?" He stuck out his hand in the clear way between the dojo and lobby.

His Sensei shook his head and held out his arms. Ben laughed and hugged him as the man patted his back warmly. "I've been fine. How about you, boy? I hated to hear about your mother and Andy, though," His voice softened, and he whispered, mostly to himself, "Haven't seen you since then…"

Ben took a deep breath, nodding as he pressed his lips together. "Yeah, me too."

The man nodded somberly. He looked him up and down and nodded to his back and long case. "So have you decided to rejoin us?"

He just kept on nodding. "Yeah. I lost my way for a while," he said gravely, lowering his gaze. "I haven't exactly been in the best condition of my life recently, more so mentally than anything," He paused, and his light gray eyes flickered back up to his teacher. "But I'm gonna try to get back on track. This is a big part of it, for me," He looked out over the red mats. A few older students milled about, stretching and kicking and punching at blue bags on stands before class.

"I'm very glad to hear that. A lot of people lose their way at some point in their lives. It takes real courage to right yourself like that," Sensei nodded approvingly. They stood there for a moment in silence, watching the generation after Ben's. Sensei inhaled suddenly, turning to his student. "Would you like to assist me in teaching this class this morning?"

Ben looked over the children again. Nobody seemed familiar. He debated it in his mind for a moment before nodding. "I would be honored."

"The pleasure's all mine," He clapped a hand on Ben's shoulder. "Go get changed up, then."

"Yes sir," With a curt nod, he took his bag and case and went off to the changing rooms.

As Sensei introduced him as "Mr. Tracy," Ben smiled a bit to himself. He hadn't been called that in such a long time.

Everything came back to him as he began class with his Sensei. It was as if it had never left. In truth, it hadn't, but the wear of time made his knowledge seem to fade. When he stepped up beside his teacher for the first exercise, however, it was if not a day had passed since he had earned his black belt.

There were two boys in particular Ben couldn't take his eyes off. He watched them as they worked together as partners to throw each other around the dojo. One was a green belt; the other a brown belt. Images of his childhood, almost mirrors of him and his younger brother, blocked his mind.

A lump formed in his throat and he bit the inside of his lip before bowing his head and quietly slipping into the hallway with the changing rooms.

Sensei noticed one less body in the room and he assigned a set of sit-ups before following his student. He poked his head around the corner. "Are you alright?"

Ben leaned his forearm against the white wall over his head. He put a water bottle to his mouth, swallowing hard before replying. "Yes. It's just harder than I thought it would be." Another image of Andy showed itself behind his half-closed eyelids.

Sensei laid a hand on his shoulder. "It will get better. The first step is always the hardest, I trust you remember."

The brunette nodded and straightened. Taking a steely breath, he took another sip of water. "I haven't been myself lately. I've been someone who never had a family, who never will. Coming back here, though…" His voice trailed off and he examined his socks. "It's tough."

"It must be. Take a break; come back in when you're ready." Sensei nodded and walked back into the dojo with a bow, where the students were sitting quietly, having finished their sit-ups.

Digging his fists into his eyes and brushing his hair back, Ben had one more swig of water before stepping into the bathroom. He leaned on the sink, staring at his reddened gray eyes. He thought of the last few years and whispered to himself almost helplessly, "What did I get myself into?"

**A/N: **Moral of the story: don't join the Mafia.

This was a tearjerker even just to write. Buuuut I like my little Kilik-slash-Ben. You shoulda seen my friends and I sitting in Spanish trying to come up with a name for him. Quite entertaining.

By the way, there _is_ a reason I interrupted that little plot twist at the end. So. *sets up shield* You'll just have to wait and see. c: Hope you enjoyed, and reviews always make my day~!


	31. Chapter 31

Mello's gaze followed Linda's shaking finger to the screen. His eyes narrowed, a nasty look replacing his blank expression. "That's a guy known as Red. He's only a couple years older than us, but he's got the reputation of a long-time Mafia boss," He stared at the kid as he rolled his eyes and walked away, out of the view of the camera. "He was next on my list before the Kira case really took over."

Matt looked between his two best friends. "That's it." He disconnected the link to his laptop and stood up, grabbing at his vest on the coat rack by the door. "We're going to go kick this guy's ass."

"Matt," Mello fastened his hand to his friend's wrist. "This guy's got cronies, just like any other gang member of L.A. And I can't just leave _her_ alone," He waved at his computer, where Misa was asleep, her mouth hanging wide open as the pop star drooped over the side of her bed oh so gracefully.

The gamer stared into the blonde's icy eyes, stony resolve apparent. His sight flickered to a shaking and pale Linda, hand pressed to her mouth. "I don't care."

Mello paused before drawing out his cell phone. He pressed a number on speed dial and listened.

...

The teenagers' class was over, and Ben stood serenely before a wall holding dozens of small wooden planks, each with a name written on them. They were the students of the dojo, arranged by rank on the wall. He stared at one plank right in the middle that was different from the others. While the others were written in black ink, his eyes graced over the name "Andrew Tracy" scrawled in red. He bowed his head.

Sensei turned away from speaking to a student's parent as they left the dojo. "He was a good student," He said over the empty mats.

"I know," Ben reached for his bo, a long six-foot fighting pole, and replaced it in its case. He took his bag on his shoulder and entered the changing room to remove his black gi.

Vibrations came from the pocket of his jacket. He extracted his cell phone and flipped it open, holding it in the crook of his neck as he folded the shirt of his gi. "Hello?"

"Kilik. Come kick some ass with me."

"Who took your chocolate now, Mello?" He asked, transferring his phone to the other shoulder as he folded the rest of his gi into his duffel bag.

The blonde scoffed as he heard his belt clinking back into place. "And what poor girl did you bone now? You're getting dressed, and I know you don't sleep this late." He sounded smug. Ben checked the clock on his phone. It was just a few minutes after ten.

"Ha ha, Mello. Really funny. I'm actually just coming out of martial arts class, so I'm all warmed up to kick some ass. I ask once more: who?" He glanced at himself in the mirror on the door and picked a piece of lint off of his undershirt.

"Red."

"_Oh._"

"Have you got a problem with that?" Mello asked, an unspoken threat apparent in his voice.

Linda's voice in the background called desperately, "Be careful! Don't do anything stupid."

"Ah, no, not really, I guess," He put on his shirt and exited the changing room. "What did he do this time?" He glanced once more at the wall of planks, where the one beside his own at the top read "Riley Anderson."

Mello shook his head, but it was lost on Kilik over the phone. "What hasn't he done?"

"True as that may be, what personal vendetta must you fill now?" He waved at Sensei with a smile as he stepped into the lobby.

Sensei waved back and whisper-shouted at him from the wall, "Banpen fugyo."

"Banpen fugyo," Kilik repeated with a nod as he pushed the glass door open. It was a "Sayonara!" He turned his attention back to his fellow ex-Mafia member on the phone.

"You're lucky I speak Japanese, otherwise I would have thought you just insulted me," He replied. A car engine revved over the line. "'Ten thousand changes, no surprises,'" he translated the proverb.

Kilik gave a chuckle. "Yeah."

There was a slight commotion as the phone was grabbed from the blonde. Matt's voice now took over the phone with a stern, "That bastard not only was the one to jump me and steal my laptop, but he raped my best friend."

"Whoa, didn't know Red swung that way…" Kilik jested half-heartedly.

"I'm talking about Linda, assmunch."

"Right," Kilik sighed, taking inventory of his surroundings. "I'm by that Dunkin' Donuts just past Subway."

He relayed the information to Mello, who was presumably behind the wheel. "Stay there. We'll be there in a minute."

Kilik could hear the phone click as the call was disconnected.

He made his way over to the other end of the plaza where the commercial donut shop was. He stood on the sidewalk, watching either way for his sports car to cruise down the street with his roommate and his boyfriend. He chuckled to himself. How the hell he ended up like this, he had not a clue.

"Hey, Ben, need a ride?" Sensei noticed him just as he was about to stroll into Dunk's for a coffee.

"Nah, my roommate's on his way to pick me up." At the sound and sight of his car pulling up, he nodded. "And there he is." He opened the back seat and tossed his bag in and propped his bo against the opposite seat. "Sayonara!" He said, waving as he closed the door.

"Bye, Ben!" He called with a wave as he pushed into the coffee and donut shop.

Matt turned in his seat to observe the man sitting there. "Ben?" He raised an eyebrow.

"You didn't actually think Kilik was my real name, did you?" Ben mirrored his look as he buckled up.

The redhead sat back. "Well, no. You just don't look like a Ben."

"But I am. Benjamin Linus Tracy," He stated his full name for emphasis.

"_Linus?"_ Matt snorted involuntarily. "Remind me to make fun of your name later."

Ben leaned back, grinning. "That's not even the worst. My initials are BLT," he chuckled. "I'm a sandwich!" He said with false excitement. The smile faded when he remembered where they were going. "So Red was fooling around with the wrong girl, eh?"

Matt's face turned stony as well. "Got that right."

Mello snorted from the driver's seat. "He's been doing this shit too long now. He crossed the line."

"Hell, he crossed the line years ago, by the vibe I'm getting from you two," Matt threw his hands in the air, fingertips brushing the soft roof of the car.

"I never liked the kid," Kilik shook his head.

Once again, Matt whipped around in his seat. "You _knew_ him?"

Kilik stared at Matt. "Yes," he nodded quickly. "I had to work with him as buyu at the dojo for years when I was little since we were always at the same level. He was a nasty person, even back then. Always got what he wanted." He rolled his eyes. "It's really no surprise he ended up the way he did, but you'd think that the bujinkan would make him at least _somewhat_ respectful."

"So, what belt are _you?_"

"Well, I just came back after a few years today. I'm a fourth degree black belt. He's probably a sixth or seventh if he kept going while I was gone. Then again, you never know with him. He could have quit with no competition," He gestured to himself, "Or he could have weaseled his way through another couple of belts."

"Well shit." Matt sat back in his seat, thinking about the night he'd gotten mugged. The guy dodged his kick as if it were nothing. Sure, Matt wasn't some martial artist genius, but Red and Kilik were. He glanced in the back seat again. "Mind if I smoke?" He rifled through his pockets for a box of cigs.

"Nah, just roll down the window." Kilik sighed. "Maybe you guys should rethink this. Just call the cops or something," He tried to reason with them.

Matt lit up a cigarette and rolled down the window. "I thought you were part of the Mafia? You know, kill everyone in your way. Machiavelli," He paused. "Not that I'm completely disagreeing with you; I just wanna kick this guy's ass personally."

"That was more of a survival thing, joining the Mafia. I was just a hacker, anyway. They didn't send me out to kill people very often," He shook his head. The Mafia was a bad choice. "The only reason I'm not still there is because they think we're both dead. Burned in that explosion."

Mello listened on, and he felt a bit subconscious about the giant scar marring the left side of his face from that particular experience. "Right."

They finally pulled up to a street of shabby apartments. Mello snagged the one available parking space and he turned the engine off. "So what's it gonna be?" He looked to Matt.

He debated things for a moment. They'd really just shot off without an inkling of a plan. Not to uncommon for the impulsive Wammy boys. "Call the cops. If anything happens, I don't want Linda involved in this any more than she already is. Worst case, we call Roger."

"Alright. The guy's probably got contacts on Mars for all we know," Mello rolled his eyes and pulled out his cell phone.

Kilik watched them from the backseat. Whoever this Roger guy was must be pretty reliable for even Mello to trust him.

Matt clenched his fist and took a drag of his cigarette. "You don't know how much I want to just punch him right now."

"Hey, that's pretty hard for even me to do," Kilik said, twitching his eyebrows.

"Hi, ah, my friend's laptop was stolen a few days ago and we found out who did it and where he currently is. We have reason to believe it's the same person who raped a mutual friend earlier in the year," Mello explained, looking at Matt. Matt and Kilik shut up as the blonde started talking. He listened over the line before glancing around. He relayed the address, and with a quick "Thanks," he hung up.

"We should go pay him a visit," Kilik suggested. "You know, just so we know he's not going anywhere until the police show up."

Matt nodded. "It wouldn't be as odd for you to visit as us," He waved between himself and the chocoholic beside him. "Besides, I wouldn't be able to restrain myself if I saw him right now."

"And I'd probably shoot him," Mello echoed, letting his hand fall protectively over the Beretta on his hip.

"Ah, yeah," Kilik said, eyeing him. He knew just how much damage that gun could do. "Don't let the police see that."

"No shit, Sherlock."

"Right." Kilik slipped out of the car, and before leaving, leaned back in, "Don't let my car get wrecked. I'll have your ass." He turned, but glanced back once more. "Although, knowing you, you'd probably like that." Without time for a comeback, glare, or bullet, Kilik closed the door and darted up the stairs of the apartment building.

**A/N:** Aaaand we're back to Mattie and Mello~!

Hope you enjoyed! :)


	32. Chapter 32

Kilik pressed the button for the first floor of the apartment building, still snickering from his final comment.

"Hello?" Middle-aged woman's voice echoed from the speaker.

"Uh, hi," Kilik said quickly, clearing his throat. "I was just wondering which apartment Riley Anderson lives at? He didn't give me which floor, the idiot that he is."

There was a pause. "Floor number four, sweetie."

"Uh, thanks," He twitched his eyebrows before buzzing the fourth floor.

"What?"

He chuckled. "Gee, nice to see you too, Riley. It's Ben Tracy from the dojo from forever ago. Mind if I come up for a few?"

There was another pause. "What makes _you_ come around after so long?"

"Well, I just went back to the dojo today and I wanted to see how you were, my ole buyu!" He said cheekily.

"…Whatever. Come on up."

The door clicked as it unlocked and Ben leaped up the stairs until he reached the fourth floor apartment. He knocked on the door and waited for a moment, before his former training partner peeked through the door and unchained it for him.

_Hasn't changed a bit,_ Ben thought as he smiled at Red. _Same red hair, narcissistic look. He's still short,_ he laughed inside, though his exterior remained friendly. "Hey!" He greeted.

Riley opened the door wider and waved him in. "Hey there."

Ben shoved his hands in his pockets and leaned against the island of the kitchen. He threw a quick glance around. The place was spotless—really not surprising given Red's age-old OCD. The room seemed unnaturally bright for the lair of a friend-turned-rapist-thief-gangster. He bit the inside of his lip. "So, fancy seeing you around, eh?"

"More like seeing _you_," He said, slouching onto the back of his tan couch.

"Aha, right," He smiled and scratched the back of his head nervously. The cops were going to be there any minute.

Riley slid over the edge of his couch and lazily threw his legs onto the coffee table before him. Ben joined him, plopping down onto the same couch opposite him. He took a sip of a Monster energy drink. "So, what brings you back?"

"Los Angeles or the dojo?"

"Both."

"Well, I never really left L.A. for very long," Ben started out. "I did the whole stereotypical drug addict thing for a few years."

That seemed to catch Riley's attention and he stiffened for a moment. "What'd you do?"

"Eh, a little bit of anything," He shrugged. "It's amazing what some kid on the streets could get his hands on. There's some pretty crazy shit out there. But I'm past that by now; it's not for me," He shook his head and fingered the hem of his shirt.

Riley relaxed a bit in his seat. "Oh." He tapped his fingers impatiently on the arm of the chair, and his gaze kept flicking to two doors leading off to other rooms.

"But anyway, I decided that in part of getting clean, I'd get back into the Bujinkan." Ben noticed his distracted look and followed his line of sight. "What are you waiting for?"

He shook his head. "Ah, nothing." He paused, directing his full attention back to Ben. "So are you still only a fourth degree?"

"Hey, you remembered! Yeah," Ben said, stalling for a bit longer until sirens began to echo through the open window to his left. Which, in itself was a natural occurrence in the city. Ben knew better, and he scarcely held back the emotion from his eyes; his inner personality was laughing too hard. "And how much farther have you gotten since I left?"

"Not much, really. Only a sixth. I don't really have time to go to class much anymore, so…" He trailed off. "I hadn't much time to get over to Japan and everything to see Hatsumi-Sensei."

_Don't have time for class? Yet you have time to rape innocent women and steal and mug geeks?_ Ben's inner personality chuckled yet again. "Yeah, I was thinking about going over there next month."

"Cool." His already naturally bored-sounding voice grew even more bored. Then he thought of something and directed his distracted gaze back at Ben. "You still fucking Grace?"

Ben's mouth swung open for a moment, pondering how to word it. "That's the one part of my old life I'm not really willing to go back to just yet," He said.

Riley shrugged. "Your loss."

A car door slammed four stories below them. Ben stood up. "Well, looks like you need to get back to work then," He sighed and Riley rolled his eyes thankfully. He started toward the door and paused, listening for the footsteps making their way up the stairs. "Oh, and Riley?"

He threw a glance at him from the couch. "What?"

"You're a dad."

**A/N:** Oh, Riley, you. You're such a butt. Short and maybe not-so-sweet chapter. Things will be getting quiiiite interesting in the next chapter. I will actually start to plan this out a bit more, so hopefully with the next chapter will come a rough estimation of how many more chapters Score One will have. :)

So now that I have GIMP, I've been tracing over some of my old drawings. I'm proud to say that Mattie is the first of my published deviations on DA. If you all want to see it, my username there is nearlymissed.

Hope you enjoyed! Reviews make my day. ;)


	33. Chapter 33

There was a rather perplexed look on his face before there was a stern knock on the door. Ben opened it wide and waved in a pair of police officers. Riley's face dropped and a glare festered in his eyes, directed toward Ben. He smiled and ducked down the stairs.

Down at street level, Mello and Matt stood on the sidewalk, speaking to a police officer. "And this was your system? You owned it?" The cop asked.

Matt held back an eye roll. "_I built it_," He said slowly, "Of course I owned it, till this guy jumped me and stole it from me. Even though I was technically unauthorized from it, that was the only way I would have been able to find it."

The officer raised a disbelieving eyebrow. Ben joined the duo silently, listening to the hacker and the cop.

"Come on, I found the whereabouts of a provable rapist and thief—with evidence, I might add—and you're worried about me _hacking_ _my own computer?"_ Matt asked incredulously.

As the officer shook his head at Matt, there was a voice over the radio on his hip. Though it was completely indiscernible to the trio standing there, it seemed to make perfect sense to the cop. He held up a hand to Matt and slid into one of the two cruisers to request yet another car. When confronted by six confused eyes, all of varying shades of blue and gray, he mumbled as he started toward the building, "Putting up a fight."

Apparently, Riley "Red" Anderson gave up easily, as moments later, the infamous gangster was being escorted rather roughly down the three flights of stairs. The glare was still in place in his brown eyes, and he spat obscenities at his old friend. He passed them quickly, handcuffed, and was pushed into the backseat of the flashing car.

"Such a nice guy," Ben mumbled sarcastically.

One of the other police officers, a woman, stepped up to them with a notepad. Mello offered all the information on Riley he knew that wasn't incriminating to himself, with the holes being filled in by Ben along the way. Then came the topic of the supposed rape victim.

"She's a very close friend of ours," Mello gestured between himself and Matt. "She was raped back in March, and actually just recently delivered her daughter on the twenty-eighth." Matt nodded along, his blood simmering as he heard the whole fiasco repeated. "She remembers very clearly Riley being her main assailant, along with another couple of guys."

As if on cue, another pair of officers who had slipped back into the building escorted a burly guy down the stairs as well. Mello scrutinized him, explaining simultaneously, "She said another one of them was a rather tall, bulky fellow with a green hat on. The hat's really irrelevant at this point, but that guy fits the ticket otherwise," He jerked his chin at the second arrestee.

Matt shook his head and climbed back into the car. He couldn't hear this again. Somebody needed a punch in the face, which, while he was very willing and eager to supply, he knew wasn't going to happen without a lawsuit. Ben followed him first with his eyes, then with his feet.

As he took the driver's seat of his car, he sighed, "I'd ask if she was your girlfriend, but…" He offered a lighthearted chuckle as Matt rolled his eyes and smirked at him.

"She's my best friend. Has been since we were little," He nodded to himself, playing with the goggles around his neck. "I couldn't believe it happened back then. Now, though, knowing who did it…" His voice, shaking with rage, trailed off as he shook his head again and stared out at the dirty sidewalk.

Ben examined the steering wheel. "That's never happened to me, but I can imagine how frustrating it is."

"You have no idea."

Mello knocked on the window and raised his hands disbelievingly in an angry gesture that just screamed, "What the hell? I'm driving, asshole."

In reply, Ben simply locked his door when Matt handed him the keys. He jammed a thumb behind him and with an audible growl, Mello climbed into the backseat. "Target practice soon," He warned icily, but Ben only laughed his very real threat off.

When the officer waved them clear, Ben pulled out of the tight parking job Mello dropped them into and started back toward his home.

"So what's going on?" Matt asked openly. "Did you give them Linda's information? What about ours?"

"Yes for Linda, of course any info I gave them on us is fake. They took your laptop too. Don't worry, we'll just call Roger and he'll get everything sorted out for sure. Till then, just use Linda's laptop or something," Mello dismissed the topic from the back seat. He lounged across the seat, legs tucked under Ben's bo. He yawned. "God, why am I so tired at ten thirty a.m.?"

"Take a nap," Matt said plainly.

"Can't."

"You can, you just won't."

"Completely true," The blonde muttered, sinking into the gray seats.

As Mello used some of his unusable time on the ride home resting, Matt stared forward, trying to keep his mind off Riley by instead tracing the entirety of the story line of the Legend of Zelda games—from the very beginning. Only when a light snoring came from the backseat was he jolted from his princess-filled fantasies. He smirked as he glanced at the conked out ex-Mafioso.

"He asleep?" Ben glanced at the gamer.

He chuckled. "Out like a light. And he 'can't' take a nap," He scoffed. "The guy's probably been up for three days straight by now."

"Stress does that to you," Ben reasoned, pulling into the Burger King drive-through for some "sustenance," as he liked to call it.

"It's more sheer will than stress," Matt twitched his eyebrows lazily. "Get me some fries?"

"Sure." The fast food came in the same manner from which it earned its name and they were off. Matt directed him back to Linda's apartment. When they pulled up on the sidewalk, they turned in unison to the slumbering blonde in the backseat.

They looked at each other.

"I'm not touching him."

"Let's leave him be."

Matt and Ben spoke simultaneously, followed by a perfectly executed fist bump.

**A/N:** Cute and sleepy Mello is cute and sleepy. Sorry I kind of fell off the face of the earth in the last couple days. I've got a bit of an overlapping of schedules going on right now, at least for the next week, so chapters may be a bit slower for the next two weeks or so. But don't worry, they're still a-coming. ;) Reviews aaaalways make my day!


	34. Chapter 34

"So, ah," Ben started, still facing the problem of the sleeping Mafioso in the backseat of his car.

Matt finished his next thought, "Do we just leave him here…?"

"…Or carry him in?"

The gamers looked at each other, then to Mello, then back to each other. "Bring him up," Matt concluded. "He sleeps like a rock."

Ben, having carried one of his training partners up and down the mall several times, found no trouble in gently picking up the blonde and toting him bridal style into the elevator of Linda's apartment building. Mello snored quietly, before groaning, "Turn of the damn lights before I shoot them," and throwing an arm over his eyes.

"Oh yeah, he talks in his sleep too," Matt remembered as they exited the lift, stuffing another fry in his mouth. "We used to have full-on conversations and he'd have no recollections of any of them whatsoever."

"Why does that not surprise me?" Ben mumbled with a smirk as Matt unlocked the apartment with a spare key he'd been given.

Linda was up to her elbows in paint, and she glanced up as the trio entered her abode. "Did you knock him out? I told you not to do anything stupid," She chided sarcastically before nodding her head in the direction of her room. "Just put him on my bed. He'll wake up as soon as his subconscious realizes he's wasting valuable time."

Ben smiled at the stranger that was Linda before following her nod and setting his fellow former Mafia member on the full-sized bed. He snorted to himself, thinking how much of a circus the three of them made—four if you counted the newly acquainted artist. There was one relatively normal-looking guy hauling around a passed out, leather-clad and rather feminine blonde ex-Mafia boss, being tailed by a dorky, French fry-munching ginger with orange goggles, striped shirt, and wooly sweater vest, as well as a crazy artist literally covered in paint. His inner voice laughed as he clicked the door closed.

Linda turned from her colorful masterpiece—an overlapping collection of her handprints in rainbow variety—and flashed a quick smile at Ben. "Hi, I'm Linda."

"Ben," He grinned back. _Okay, it's been a while since I last introduced myself as that._ "Nice to meet you." He could see her arms still shaking as she held them above the paint-encrusted apron she was wearing. While her smile wasn't faked, it was very much forced.

"It's a pleasure," She reached her hand out before pulling it back quickly, remembering her paint-encrusted palms. The artist laughed. "Sorry."

"It's not a problem," Ben instinctively offered a curt bow before remembering he was no longer in the dojo.

Matt settled down on the couch before Mello's computer. "May as well get to work, then," he sighed, stopping the recording of the still slumbering Japanese pop star.

Ben hovered by the door. "You want me to leave you the keys and walk, or can I take the car?"

"You got anything important to do?" When met with a shake of his head, Matt looked to Linda. "Mind if he sticks around and helps me out here?"

Linda nodded. "Any friend of yours is a friend of mine. Just be quiet; Nora's sleeping. Seems like she sleeps all day and screams all night," She mumbled the last part sourly. At Ben's blank look, she clarified, "My daughter." She swallowed hard.

"Ah, right. I will, then," Ben nodded understandingly and took a seat beside Matt. "So what's the project today?"

Linda watched the backs of their heads as the computer screens flashed as the hackers began to manipulate the pair of machines. She nudged up the faucet and scrubbed the wet orange, green, and purple paint from her palms.

Tossing a hand towel on the island, the artist lowered herself onto the small sliver of cushion on Matt's end of the couch. "So…?" She whispered, glancing between them.

"Everything's all taken care of, don't you worry," Matt nodded reassuringly, patting her hand resting on her thigh. "Which reminds me," He stood up, bringing Linda with him, "We've got to call Roger so he can sort everything out and get me my laptop back. The cops took it. And you'll probably have to bring Nora in for that paternity test sometime in the near future. Though, knowing Roger, he's got connections everywhere and can probably get someone to come here to do it."

Linda nodded. "Alright then," she said, glancing at her work in progress. "I guess I should finish this up."

Ben watched the two of them and nodded as Matt left and idled in the kitchen with Linda's phone. He turned his attention back to the task at hand: watch the status of the gamer's laptop. Apparently it was important, but doing ragtag jobs from the streets for a living for quite a few years conditioned Ben to be able to work without knowing the details.

Once he got settled in and semi-familiar with the setup of Linda's computer, he sat back and watched the artist in her natural environment for a moment. She took a paint brush and slathered her right palm with a teal colored paint, then with another brush coated her fingers with yellow, lime green, purple, and red. Positioning her hand seemingly haphazardly on the tile, the paint left her hand print among the others. Matt spoke quietly into the phone in the kitchen.

"That's pretty neat."

She jolted, but then remembered his presence. "Oh, thanks. It's going on a mural we're building at some university. Can't say I'm sure it'll stay the way it is, though, knowing L.A." Linda hummed, observing her project.

"True," Ben agreed. "I was never very artsy myself, but I know that public art rarely stays pure for very long. Expect the worst, I guess."

"Male anatomy and a cacophony of curses by the week's end?"

"Very possible," He nodded, throwing a glance back at the computers. "Though if it's at a university, there's a good chance there's not only campus police, but fences surrounding the campus. As if fences ever really stopped anyone," He shrugged, "But at least it'll have some sort of protection."

Matt hung up the phone with the click of a button and returned to the couch. "You're tile alone will render anyone dumbfounded and they won't even be able to grasp a spray paint can," he winked at Linda jokingly. "It'll be fine."

Linda chuckled, wiping her hands clean to apply another coat of mostly yellow and purple in a somewhat tie-dyed pattern. "Thanks."

A few handprints later, she cleansed her hands one final time and collapsed on the couch between Matt and Ben. When staring at Misa Amane from the most unflattering angle as well as Matt's computer became boring, they opened up a game to keep themselves busy.

"What the hell." The gamer grumbled at the computer screen for the third time that afternoon. "Why does Madagascar close its ports when the disease has no symptoms and it's barely spread through North America?" He angrily restarted Pandemic II.

Linda raised her head tiredly from Matt's shoulder. "Wha?" Upon seeing the game on the screen, she dropped her head once more, resuming her short nap.

"I won." Ben said with a smug tip of his chin.

"What the hell? How'd you do that?" Matt squinted through his goggles at Linda's computer. "Fuck you, you're playing the hacked version."

Ben just smiled cheekily at him. "Infinite evolution points, baby."

The quiet early afternoon was broken as Linda's door slammed open. "Fuck you all! Why the fuck did you let me sleep so long?" Mello's outburst was followed swiftly by loud crying.

Linda jerked awake and the trio turned around from their seats on the couch to look at Mello. Matt and Ben looked at each other. The redhead began, "Man, you hadn't slept since I got here. I mean, last night, you just got up and kept working. You need to sleep, damn it."

"Ryuzaki didn't sleep."

Linda piped up as she rose from the couch, "But you're not Ryuzaki. You're Mello, and Mello needs sleep like every other human being who doesn't live on caffeine and sugar." She brushed by him to quiet her daughter.

Mello stopped and bowed his head. "I know," Matt heard him murmur under his breath.

"Come on, it's almost two. Let's call it a day and go home," Ben suggested, shutting down Linda's laptop. Matt nodded and did the same to Mello's, packing it up in its case.

The blonde glared angrily between them before conceding, holding his head. "Fine. I've got a bitch of a headache."

Linda emerged from Nora's room after calming her with a pacifier. "Are you guys leaving?"

"Yeah, we're gonna go force this one into bed again so he can actually get a good night's sleep for once," Matt jerked a thumb at Mello, who leaned against the wall with his feathery leather coat and laptop case.

The artist nodded. "Alright then." She examined her tile, and, upon finding it dry, she decided it was dry. "I'll come with you guys downstairs; got to get my portion down to the mural." Linda bid her farewells at the second floor.

After a relatively short drive back to Ben's apartment, the three of them finally collapsed in the living room. Mello drooped himself along the length of the couch, throwing his feet on the arm of the chair and his head atop Matt's lap. Ben sat in another chair in the room for a moment, before rising to return his bo and gi to their rightful places in the closet.

He didn't even reach the end of the hall before a quiet snore came from Mello. Matt looked at Ben, who shook his head before disappearing into his room. The gamer sighed, settling in for a nap himself. "Night, Mels," he mumbled, easily sliding into unconsciousness.

**A/N:** Can you tell I was tired whilst writing this? I can, heheh. I still haven't quite gotten around to mapping out the rest of the chapters for this story, but I will probably end up doing it tomorrow during the rides to and from my cousins' house. So, expect some sort of countdown-slash-warning-thing next time I update. :D Hope you enjoyed~!


	35. Chapter 35

Two weeks passed. It was affirmed that Riley had fathered Nora, and Roger made sure Matt got his laptop back in one piece. About a week after the gangster was sent to prison, his death was announced to the trio of Wammy kids. He was found dead in his cell with nothing other than the clothes on his back. Such a healthy individual, Roger said, couldn't have died naturally of a heart attack, and it was assumed that Riley was another of Kira's victims.

Days were spent with Matt bouncing between Linda's and Ben's apartments. He had to curb his smoking habit while at Linda's because of the baby, much to his chagrin. But it was worth it, he figured. Ben was rarely home anymore, as he decided to take up martial arts once again and work toward his fifth degree, the level of mastery. Mello was working wherever he was on the Kira case through his precious laptop, and Linda busied herself with parenting and painting.

It wasn't until the thirteenth of December the five of them were in one place again. Linda toted her daughter in her carrier to Ben's apartment. Mello slept away in his bed, but Matt and Linda were up and about. Ben was off at the dojo, but was on his way back soon enough.

There was a loud clang from the kitchen, followed by a few coughs from the ginger. Linda didn't even look up from changing Nora's diaper in the living room. "Clean it up."

Matt cursed to himself. "Flour. Flour—everywhere," he grumbled, snatching the broom the closet. White flour coated his black and white striped shirt and the top portion of his jeans.

"What did you do?" Linda asked, laughing. Nora laughed along, oblivious.

"That cup of flour totally didn't just fall on the floor." The hacker scowled and swept the white powder into a dust pan before disposing of it.

The artist rolled her eyes. "Smooth move."

The jingle of keys caught both of their attentions as the door was pushed open and Ben entered. "Hey guys." He gave Matt a quick once-over. "What the hell are you trying to do?"

"Brownies."

"Move," The brunette rolled his eyes and pushed Matt out of the kitchen. "I'll show you how it's done."

"Thank God, someone who knows what he's doing," Linda chuckled at Matt's glare.

"I'm not a damn chef," He mumbled bitterly before plopping down on the couch. He observed the Dora the Explorer that was playing on the television for Nora. He soon was absently following the young Spanish girl's journey to her _abuela's_ house.

Linda glanced at him before standing and leaning on the cutout to the kitchen. "So how'd you learn how to cook?"

Ben cracked an egg into the brown mixture. "Well, with my mom working so much to support me and my little brother, a lot of the time, I was responsible for dinner most days. Treats were always a plus. It also doesn't hurt to know how to cook when you've been on your own for almost a decade now," He leaned onto the cutout from the other side. "As appetizing as it may sound, you can't exactly live your life on ramen and microwave pizzas."

"You should try it sometime," Matt piped up, breaking his focus from crossing a bridge.

"Yeah, no thanks," Ben smirked, returning to the counter to finish the brownies.

Linda looked at them. Matt seemed to be more into the cartoon than her daughter was. Nora was almost asleep, sprawled out on a blanket on the relatively white carpets. "I swear, he's got the mind of a six-year-old," She whispered to Ben, jerking a thumb over her shoulder.

"I'd believe it." He nodded and added another drop of vanilla to the metal bowl. Grabbing a whisk, he mixed it all together thoroughly.

Linda hummed. "Smells good already." She reached out and swiped a finger of brownie batter from the edge of the bowl. "Yum."

"Thanks." Ben emptied the batter into a pan before sliding it into the oven. He called to Matt. "You know, it's really not as hard as you think it is."

"Whatever," he waved at him distractedly.

Ben shook his head. "Okay," He leaned back against the cutout, glancing at Linda. "So, do you bake much? I mean, I know you paint, but I've seen a lot of artists as cake decorators."

"Nah," Linda waved him off. "I'm all for my old acrylics and a blank canvas—even if it's not really canvas." She exhaled, tracing the pattern of the kitchen floor with her eyes. Her head snapped up to meet his line of sight. "But I'd never turn down a piece of cake."

He chuckled and pushed himself away from the wall, moving to join them in the living room. "I'm the other way around. I'll bake all you want, but god am I sick of it by the time rolls around when the first slice is cut. Brownies, however," He sighed with a chuckle as he sunk into his chair, "I'd eat them all. Unless, you know, it's a birthday." With a smirk, he nodded his head down the hall.

"Riiiight," she drawled, sitting down beside her now napping daughter. She rubbed her back slowly and rhythmically.

Ben observed the mother and daughter for a moment. "What's it like? To be a parent, I mean?"

The artist bit her lip and sat back on her heels. "Hard to explain. In the last few weeks, Nora's become my entire life. I don't do anything without her anymore," She gazed fondly at the baby. "It's pretty much just a change of lifestyle, forced as it may have been for me. It's terrifying because I've no experience, but I'm learning every day. It really is nice, though."

He nodded along distractedly. "I was kind of a surrogate dad for my brother. Although, you know, three years older is kind of a stretch, but you know what I mean. I was the one to look up to. Anything I did, Andy had to do too. That's how he got into martial arts too, because I joined. The look on his face when I got my black belt…" He breathed a laugh. "Bittersweet, now."

"I didn't have any siblings. At least, not that I know of. I don't know if you've told him, Matt," At the mention of his name, the redhead turned to listen fully, "but the three of us are orphans. No family aside from each other. Cheesy as all get out, I know. But it's completely true."

"Mello never really spoke of his past. I think he mentioned something about an orphanage when he was talking about you" he nodded to Matt "one day. But, knowing me, I was probably too submerged in Soul Calibur to have comprehended."

"It's kind of hard to imagine a badass, leather-clad, scarred-up Mafia boss talking about his past," Matt snorted.

"What about me?" A groggy blonde padded slowly down the hallway. His hair was mussed and his usually sharp eyes were half-hooded with residual fatigue. With a yawn, he sniffed the air. "Mm, that smells good…"

Ben stood to guard the brownies from the chocoholic. "We were just mentioning how you don't seem like the type to share your history."

"Yeah, I mean, it took you almost three years of being best friends for you to explain anything you remembered from your past," Matt finally broke away from the television. "Not that it wasn't anything I found from hacking into the system. You _know_ I cared about you just by my doing that. Bitch took me a full hour."

"How nostalgic. When will the brownies be ready?" Mello ignored an expected response and jumped to the mouth-watering treats in the oven.

"Ten minutes."

"Uuuugh." He stalked away, back down the hall and into the bathroom.

Matt, Linda, and Ben looked between each other. "Was he always…?" Ben wondered aloud, pointing down the hall.

"Not at all. He was the definition of morning person when we were little. But hey, that's what stress and overworking will get'cha," Matt brought his feet up on the couch, extending his body the full length. "Which is why I prefer to expend as little energy as possible," he said with a satisfied smirk.

"That's just what I call lazy," Linda smiled. She picked up her daughter and laid her in the carrier to sleep. Turning around, the artist decided that the couch was the best place to sit, and lowered herself right on top of Matt's stomach.

"Oof."

She just ruffled his hair with a cheeky grin before hopping up again and walking to the kitchen to observe brownies.

Ten minutes later, the Mello everyone knew exited the bathroom in a cloud of steam. The thick black sleep pants and T-shirt he had previously been sporting were replaced with his usual leather pants and vest. His eyes were wide and alert once more, and blonde locks were in place. He unwittingly followed Linda's example and plopped down on top of Matt as if he wasn't even there.

"Today's sit on Matt day!" He exclaimed, pushing Mello up just as the timer on the oven went off.

"Before you attack them like a starving velociraptor, let 'em cool," Ben slid the sheet of fresh confectionaries atop the stove and dropped the oven mitt on the counter. He pushed Mello out of the kitchen. Linda remained at the small table, sketching something in her notebook.

"Hey Mello, guess what?" The artist called through the cutout as he dropped himself onto the couch. Matt wisely sat up.

"What?"

"You're twenty."

He paused. "Oh, yeah."

Matt crawled across the cushion separating them and whispered something in his ear. Had it not been Mello, he probably would have smiled or blushed or _something_. The Mafia boss just quirked the corner of his mouth and nodded.

Ben looked between them. He shook his head and padded back down the hall to deposit his things in his room. "I don't wanna know."

"Good, you're not gonna know."

A few minutes later, Mello had returned to his room and was conversing with Near. Matt heard the sheep's monotone voice offer birthday wishes before the door was closed and headphones were installed.

Linda leaped at the microwave to stop the timer from buzzing with one second left on the clock. Linda carved up a couple of brownies and arranged them with a scoop of chocolate ice cream in a large mug. She handed it to Matt, who stuck a single blue candle in the center of a brownie on top. He lit it with his lighter before knocking loudly on the door at the end of the hallway.

"What?" He shouted from the opposite side of the room.

Matt pushed the door open, followed by Linda. Ben hovered at the doorway. As Matt belted the happy birthday song at the top of his lungs, the artist harmonized behind him. Ben just shifted awkwardly. He wasn't exactly a singing type of guy.

Mello ripped off his headphones at the knock on the door. He actually smiled a bit and blew out the candle before digging into his ice cream-brownie concoction like a savage. "Thanks guys."

Near stopped mid-sentence when the birthday crew burst in. There was a large, old English N on the screen. The voice belonging to the albino echoed from the headphones, "I will contact you later, Mello. Go enjoy your treat. We'll discuss this later. Good bye."

"Bye," Mello called through a mouthful of ice cream. He swallowed before mumbling after the N disappeared, "You fucking emotionless troll."

Matt gave a cheeky smile. Mello glanced behind him. "Hey, Linda, don't you think it's a bit late? I bet Kyle's looking for you," He suggested casually.

"Mello, it's barely past eleven."

"Then go take him out to lunch."

Something finally clicked, and the artist hummed. "Alright, I get it. I'll go," She backed up, rolling her eyes, and bumped into Ben. He stepped back and allowed her out to the hallway.

"I guess that means I'm getting kicked out too?"

"Yup," Matt just grinned.

He raised his hands defensively. "Okay, okay. Maybe I'll go look up one of my old friends for lunch or something." Ben too began to back into the hallway as Mello strode across the room. "You two have fun—but not _too_ much fun. I want the place in one piece when I get back."

"Yeah, yeah," the Mafioso waved him off as the door slammed closed in his face.

Ben and Linda shared a look. "Let's get out of here."

Before any incriminating evidence could be involuntarily gathered, Ben and Linda with Nora booked it out of the apartment. Matt and Mello were left alone in the middle of the afternoon, and that was just the way they wanted it.

**A/N:** Yeeeeee, Mello's twenty noooow! Sorry this took so long, I've been working a bit on later chapters as well. So, I'm going to try to plan this out to be 42 chapters, so that means we're down to seven after this. Home stretch! From here on out, things are gonna get pretty interesting, so we'll see how it goes. :) Hope you enjoyed, and be sure to drop off a review!

Oh, and if anybody happened to go to Anime Boston this weekend—it was totally crazy. Glad I went! :D


	36. Chapter 36

"Matt. Get your ass up."

The gamer groaned and squeezed his eyes shut as he clutched at a pillow. His eyelids slid open when he felt the squishy fabric. _This isn't Mello…_

The light filtering through the window landed on his face as Mello moved from where he was standing and he squinted. Darkness greeted him again a moment later as a pair of jeans landed on his face. "Up and at 'em. We're off to Japan."

"Wait, _what?"_

…

It was three days into the new year. The night of December 31st ended with a drunk Matt and Mello (which is always fun), equally inebriated Ben, a tipsy Kyle, and a dejectedly sober Linda with her daughter. Certain things occurred that night that Linda envied the drunkards for not remembering, and certain sights were forever imprinted into her conscience.

It didn't take too long for Mello to virtually dress Matt like a child would her doll, and pack up whatever belongings he had remaining from their life in Los Angeles.

Matt followed along, slowly wrenching his way into consciousness as the morning progressed. Seven A.M. was too damn early for the gamer. Ben hopped in the driver's seat and, with Mello and a still half-asleep Matt in the backseat, took off for LAX.

"So, this isn't sudden _at all,_" Ben began sarcastically.

"Actually, it's not."

"Hey, could you swing by Linda's place for a minute? I'd feel horrible crossing the Pacific without saying goodbye," Matt asked, looking up from lying on Mello's lap. His eyes darted between the driver's seat and Mello staring down at him.

Ben glimpsed in the rear-view mirror as Mello nodded. His face was stony, and with the added scar, was rather unsettling. "Right-o," He switched lanes and headed toward the artist's apartment.

As they pulled up to the street corner, Matt tapped on the buzzer incessantly until a sleepy-sounding Linda answered with an exasperated, "What?" There was crying in the background.

"Lemme up."

"_Matt?_ Fuck you. Come on."

With that, the door was unlocked and he dashed up the stairs. Pushing open the door as if it were nothing, he was met with Linda, in PJs, sitting on the couch asleep. He sat down beside her quietly. "Hey."

She jolted awake. "God, Matt. Don't do that!"

"Sorry. So I guess Mello's dragging me off to Japan now," He dived right in, laying his arm over the back of the couch.

That woke her up. "What? Why so sudden?" She straightened, bringing one leg up on the couch beneath her as she turned to face him.

"Beats me, it's Mello. So, I just wanted to say goodbye and wish you well for the moment. You know the drill: call me whenever you want to; I'm lonely." He chuckled, flipping his scarlet hair out of his eyes.

Linda slipped into his arms and squeezed him tight. He hugged her back. "Well, hit me up when you'll be back. I hate not being able to see you."

He pulled back and placed a friendly kiss on her forehead. "You'll be the first to know from me. If you ever feel so inclined, I'm sure you're welcome to join us any time, if you want."

She glanced to where Nora was whining from her crib. "No, I couldn't leave now. Besides, I have a feeling you two'll have your work cut out for you in Japan. That's where Near's working on the Kira case, isn't it?"

"I guess so. I dunno, I'm pretty much just along for the ride at this point. Whatever Mello says, I do. It just works that way," Matt shrugged.

"Well, you be safe, okay?"

"Always." The gamer stood and swayed toward the door. "Give Nora a kiss for me." With that, he was out the door and back in the car idling near the sidewalk. Ben took off as soon as he was buckled in.

"So, I've been thinking about following you guys to Japan," The brunette started abruptly.

"What? Why?" Matt asked, and Mello listened.

"Well, I figure, I'll be able to train under Hatsumi-Sensei over there. Besides, I'm already fluent in Japanese because of training, and it'll be a new start for me. Get away from this city, y'know?" He explained smoothly, shrugging as he turned the steering wheel.

Mello sniffed and stared out the window. "Do whatever you want; it's your life."

"And that's what I'm beginning to figure out."

"Good for you! If only some people would think that way…" Matt hummed, tossing a light accusing glance at the blonde beside him.

Mello's snapped his head around. "_I_ _want_ to beat him. _I want_ to do everything I've ever done. If you think for one second that I wouldn't completely abandon it if I didn't want to do it, you're sadly mistaken."

The car fell into silence. "Right," Matt murmured, suddenly finding the back of the passenger seat oddly interesting. Only when the car pulled up to LAX did he move again.

After leaving the car with the valet, they flew through the check-in lines. The hacker screwed with the scanners just enough so that the ex-Mafioso managed to smuggle his Beretta through the lines. Once they were through, Matt dragged Ben off to an outdoor patio for one last smoke, leaving Mello to examine the menu of some bakery in a café outside the gates.

Ben took a drag of a cigarette, looking out at the bustling traffic at the parking lot. "I really shouldn't be doing this," he sighed a breath of smoke, turning to sit beside Matt on the bench.

"But you are because you're a nice guy and wouldn't leave me alone." Matt mumbled through his own death stick, pulling out a GameBoy he managed to stuff in his pocket before Mello dragged him out of the apartment.

"So much for the lull in the action."

"It's more like the calm before the storm."

Ben paused, looking at his smoke. "You know, this is my first one in a month."

"Hey, you're strong. You can just drop it. I'm not. I can't. But my life's fucked as it is, so why bother?"

"That's what I thought when I was your age," Ben lowered his cigarette and stared at the smoldering tip. "When I was nineteen, I had no home, no life, no money. The only things I owned were the clothes on my back and my laptop. I did cheap hack jobs for money, but after hanging out with the wrong people, that money became drug money. It came in and immediately went out. You, at least, have friends, a place to go..." He shook his head. "When I almost died because of these chemicals building up inside me, I willed myself to quit. Matt, I weaned myself from extremely addictive drugs—by myself—in a place where there was more available than a big time hospital. Imagine that."

He paused, and Matt bowed his head, defeated. "You can quit smoking," he mumbled, flicking his cigarette on the ground.

He was about to leave the gamer alone as he stalked down the sidewalk, when a woman sitting on the bench by the door touched him on the arm. His hand reaching for the doorknob dropped and he turned with a questioning look to the stranger.

She brought her own cigarette down from her lips. "I lost my son to drugs just a few days ago. You are very courageous. I may not know you, but I'm proud to know that there are young men like you still around. Thank you." Her wrinkled face smiled sadly, tears gathering in the corners of her eyes.

"You're welcome. I'm very sorry for your loss." And with nothing more, he reentered the building.

Matt stared down at the cigarette in his fingers. The glass door swung closed as Matt left. Smoke drifted up from his cigarette, snuffed out, left half burned on the sidewalk.

…

"You ready?" Mello asked as he downed the rest of his hot chocolate.

"As I'll ever be," Matt replied, obliterating the Cerulean gym with his Ivysaur. Misty's Starmie went down in one vine whip, and he smirked proudly. "It's super effective!"

"Then let's go, you dork."

With one last goodbye to Ben, Matt and Mello boarded the plane, carry-ons in hand. After a while, Matt grew bored of Pokemon and instead wasted an hour or so playing Commander Keen on his laptop. Once more, boredom set in and he snapped his laptop closed.

He looked to Mello, who had been doing a combination of thinking, typing, and staring out the window absently. "Hey," Matt beckoned, drawing the blonde's attention. He stretched, pressing his hands to the soft roof of the cabin. With a sigh, he popped a handful of peanuts in his mouth.

"_Hi,"_ Mello replied, shifting his focus away from the cumulus clouds below them. He tugged the window shut.

"You know, you're wicked lucky I love you so much, I actually came with you on three hours' notice."

"_Wicked?_ What are you, from Massachusetts?" Mello raised an eyebrow.

"Nah, but Kyle was. Besides, I was in New York with Near for a while, anyway. Close enough," Matt shrugged, giving up on trying to explain his absorbing of miscellaneous accents and dialects. "Anyway, as I was saying, I love you." He grinned cutely at Mello.

"I love you too," he grunted in the manliest way possible with a glance around the quiet cabin.

Matt leaned on his shoulder and burrowed his nose into the crook of his neck. Mello shuddered as his tongue flitted over his skin, and the blonde swatted him away. He murmured in his ear, "I'm not planning on joining the mile-high club this time. Sorry. Maybe next time," he winked.

The gamer slumped dejectedly in his seat, and opted to hold his lover's hand as he watched Toy Story 2, which was broadcasted throughout the cabin. Soon enough, he was asleep, boredom lulling him into a gentle nap.

Mello glanced at Matt. _Why must you be so fucking cute?_ He grumbled to himself. He resigned himself with an exhale and dropped his cheek into Matt's head of coppery hair.

...

About seven or so hours later, the plane finally landed. Zooming through the airport once more, the pair of Wammy's kids headed off to meet the third of the top rankings back at the orphanage: Near. Mello hailed down a taxi, transitioning smoothly into Japanese. In moments, they were on their way to Near's headquarters.

When they entered the large building that was Near's headquarters, a dark-haired young man with sharp gray eyes answered the door. "He's expecting you." With those three words, they were swept into the building and into the elevator.

Matt ogled at the metal and glass structure around him. _Imagine building something like this on Minecraft,_ he wondered to himself. _I could do it._ Mello stared straight ahead intimidatingly, and the man shifted slightly when the piercing gaze met his while standing in the elevator. Matt was no help, and simply started up his Pokemon game, absently tugging his goggles over his eyes.

"My name is Gevanni, I trust you remember, Mello. You must be Matt," He introduced himself, extending a hand toward the redhead.

He looked up from his game, and, holding the console in his left hand, shook it in a curt manner. "Nice to meet'cha. That's kinda funny. I'm actually just facing a Giovanni right now," he nodded to his game.

"How interesting…" Gevanni fell back into an uncomfortable silence for the remainder of the lift ride. As the door slid open to the room where Near sat, the buzzing of monitors sounded in Matt's ears.

"Welcome."

Matt completely ignored Near's greeting and instead stared at his "epic setup" of so many high-quality monitors creating a full wall in the room. "Whoa."

Mello grunted a returned greeting. Near remained with his back to the door, and consequently, his two former classmates. He examined two of his finger puppets: one with brown-red hair, a vest, stripes, gloves, and jeans, and another blonde one sporting a painted-on leather vest, scar, and rosary. The bodily forms of the two representations stood behind him.

"It's nice to see you too, Matt," Near's monotone echoed sarcastically, an immense Old-English N appearing on each of the screens with the click of a few keys of his keyboard.

"Huh? Oh, hey Near," He smiled, though he knew the albino couldn't see it.

"I trust Mello filled you in."

"Oh, uh, I kind of fell asleep during that. At least, I think that's what you were talking about..." He shrugged. "I don't know, just tell me what to do and I'll do it."

Mello snapped a bite off a chocolate bar his had stowed in his pocket. "I tried."

Near didn't budge from his place crouched on the floor. "Very well. As of right now, you two can get settled in downstairs. There is an apartment especially for you on the next floor down," He paused, setting down the dolls. He turned his head slightly, peering at them from the corner of his pale eye. "I do believe you'll find a certain room to your liking, Matt."

"Sweet, thanks."

"Yeah, thanks," Mello agreed warily, obviously berating himself for acting like a civil human being for the moment. But now that the legendary Wammy boys were in one place, Kira's reign couldn't possibly last much longer. _Yeah,_ Mello thought to himself, _Kira will die. I'll win. I'll finally win._

**A/N: **A rather fast-paced chapter here, I'm well aware. Hope you enjoyed it~! Reviews make my day. C:


	37. Chapter 37

As "Wammy Kids" go, there was a defined rank system set in place by the school that was known to everyone who knew any of them. It was obvious that Near was number one—which Mello at number two hated with a burning passion. Number three Matt didn't care all too much, but then again, there were very few things he ever really cared about. And even though Wammy's House was long behind them by now, those rankings to succeed the world-renowned L still cast a dark shadow.

A perfect example of this was the next day after Matt and Mello's first arrival in Tokyo. Having spent the first day recovering from the sixteen-hour jet lag, Mello was admittedly irritable to begin with. Nonetheless, the situation ended up with Mello yelling obscenities mixed into proclamations of, "I'm not your tool!" or "You can't just use me like that!" obviously directed at Near. Matt was stuck as peacemaker, as the various members of what was once the SPK were out on their specific tasks: Gevanni was tracking Mikami, Halle was working as Takada's personal body guard, and Rester was off stocking the supply of chocolate, as Mello had downed the fifteen bars they had stored in the past twenty-four hours.

Matt stepped smoothly between his boyfriend and former classmate. "Mello, shut up. Near, stop being a prick. If this is all gonna work out, you two've gotta work together, got it?" He pointed to each in turn, glaring through his orange-lensed goggles.

"And what about you?" Near asked.

"Me?" He pointed to himself. "I'm the official keeper of peace. Plus, technological support._ And, _unlike rage face over here," he nodded to Mello, who raised an irritated eyebrow "you may use me as you wish. But, don't take that the wrong way," Matt chuckled, but stopped when he realized no one else was going to join in. He was receiving odd looks.

"Well, I'm sure _he _appreciates it," Mello snarled at the albino who was sitting on the floor—as per usual. He crossed his arms defensively and stalked out of the room. The lack of chocolate, even if only for the past half an hour, was already getting to him.

And so, Matt was left, neck craning back and forth, debating who to talk to first.

Luckily, Near made that decision for him. "Go calm him down. I don't want that apartment torn apart, which we are both very well aware he is quite capable of."

"Yeah, I know," the gamer mumbled, before jogging out the door and after his blonde. "Mello!"

The door to the stairs clattered shut. Matt chased Mello down the stairs, ignoring the three or four doors slammed in his face throughout the pursuit. Finally, Mello had nowhere else to run as he entered one of the bedrooms of their new living conditions.

Matt huffed from the running and stair-stepping. That was perhaps the most exercise he'd gotten in a while. "Mello. Calm the fuck down."

The blonde ignored him. He plopped down on the edge of the king-sized bed and stared out at the city through the window before him. His hands clutched at his temples. "This has to work. We have to make it work. It can't _not_ work. We have to win," he murmured to himself, almost feverishly.

Matt crawled over the bed and hooked his arms around Mello's waist from behind. "And it will. Take a chill pill. Why don't you come with me and you can kick my ass at Rock Band?"

"No. We're running short on time Matt. I've got to pull together and figure this all out." He turned his body around, breaking the redhead's grip. "Sorry."

He threw his hair from his face with a deep breath. "Let's try this again."

…

A second attempt at the cooperation of Near and Mello went much more successfully than the first. So well, in fact, that Matt was dragged into this so-called "work" thing they had going on, and was currently working on some job they had assigned him to. Something about going over collected data, as a third pair of eyes. Of course, it came to no surprise when at a little after noontime, Near and Mello overheard him talking to Linda.

"Oh yeah, Ben and I are still gonna be talking. He may not have the slightest idea of what art is, but he's definitely one badass of a master at _martial _arts. I decided to tag along with him to the dojo this morning. It was interesting, to say the very least," The brunette went on, though looking off camera at Nora on the floor beside her. She glanced up, "It's a shame he's going to Japan next week." She laughed. "Next thing you know, _Kyle_ will be headed off to Japan!"

"He's coming next week?" Linda nodded. Matt hummed. "Hm. Cool. Maybe I'll be able to challenge him to a few more Soul Calibur battles."

The artist shook her head. "I doubt it. He said he's gonna be wicked busy, what with his training and everything."

"There's that 'wicked' again," Mello piped up, sidling up behind Matt. "You've been hanging with Kyle too much, Linda."

"Oh, hey Mello!" She smiled. "'Too much' is a relative term. I can't help that he grew up in Boston," she shrugged. "Anyway, how are you guys over there? Where's Near?"

The albino-esque boy mentioned stood at his name and stood behind Matt, peeking over his shoulder. "I am here."

"Hey Near!" Linda beamed. "Long time, no see." She glanced off at Nora again before picking her babbling baby up off the ground. "Have you seen Nora yet?"

"No, I have not, but Matt has told me about her."

"Isn't she cute? Just like Mommy," She gazed at her daughter in her arms.

Near was silent.

The silence was broken—thankfully, before it grew awkward—by Rester pushing his way into the room with a case of chocolate bars in his hands. "Mello."

"Ah, yessss!" He hissed and grabbed the case from the other blonde man. "Thank you." He wasted no time in tearing open the box and stuffing his face with half a bar before sitting back in one of the computer chairs and sighing with relief.

Linda was quiet as Mello and Near moved away from the camera. He looked back to his friend. "Rester just got back with Mello's chocolate."

"Ah, I see."

"Matt," Rester called, digging through his pockets. As the ginger looked up, a box of cigarettes landed in his hands. "Mello asked me to get those for you."

"Thanks, man." He smiled, but remembered his and Ben's conversation before they had left. "But, I'm thinking of stopping smoking."

"Wait, what? You are?" Mello sat up in his chair, spinning it to face the gamer.

"Did Ben ever tell you what he was like before now?"

"He didn't need to tell me, I knew him. He was one of the biggest druggees of my branch of the Mafia. And _that's_ saying something. He almost OD'd a while back, and he's been sobering up ever since. Why, did he convince you to quit cigs?"

Matt tilted his head unsurely. "I could try it."

"Well think of it this way," Linda piped up from the laptop, "If you do, you can visit Nora without being twitchy and irritable."

"I don't exactly think I'll be hopping over to L.A. to visit in the next couple months. Sorry."

"Linda, as much as I know you and Matt enjoy talking, he has work to do," Near raised his voice from the floor. "And I would very much appreciate him concentrating on it."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Matt groaned, throwing his legs up on the counter beside him.

The artist nodded, and Nora waved her fist around below the camera. "I guess that's my cue to leave. It's almost eight here, anyway. I should be getting her to bed," She jerked her chin in the direction of her daughter. "Night, guys!"

"It's already tomorrow here." Matt winked. "Night you two." As the programs closed, he grumbled to himself at the files he still had to go over. "Do I have to do this?" He whined.

Mello and Near simultaneously replied, "Yes."

With a growl, the hacker readjusted himself and began to scan through the information presented before him.

…

The time passed as if riding on the back of a tortoise for Matt. Check the time, look at a file. Had it really only been ten minutes? "Daaamn," Matt mumbled, scrolling through a full automatically updating list of Kira victims. "Okay, it's official. This guy's completely and utterly insane."

"Was that even in debate?" Mello asked. He sat on the floor with a laptop of his own and a chocolate bar in his hand. Near was sprawled out beside him, playing with some creepy-looking dolls.

"Well, no…" He rapped his fingers against the desk, thinking. Names came from every other language he could decipher. Soon enough, the letters began to blur beyond his orange-lensed goggles. _Oh, there's Riley…_

His hand itched to grab a cig and his lighter. _No, bad Mattie._

He suddenly pushed back his chair and crossed the room. "Screw this. If this case doesn't kill me, _then_ I'll quit smoking. I can't concentrate."

As soon as Matt disappeared onto the fire escape beyond the thick orange-red curtains, Mello scowled. "Fuck you." He threw a fresh chocolate bar at Near, who let out a ghost of a smile.

"I told you he'd break in less than fifteen minutes."

**A/N: **Haha, yes, Mello and Near _did_ bet on how long Matt would last with the whole "no smoking thing." Poor Mattie.

Five more chapters! Can you wait? I certainly can't, haha! Hope you enjoyed~ Reviews make my day! C:


	38. Chapter 38

"Hey guys!"

"Hey Ben! Fancy seeing you around here! Damn, you look like a tourist," Matt complained, laughing. "Take those things off." He snatched the sunglasses from his face. The gamer handed them back over to Ben, and he stowed them in his bag, chuckling.

"Miss me?" He smirked and high-fived Matt. The hacker pulled him into a hug. "I take that as a yes?"

Matt shrugged. "Mello's not exactly the same challenge at video games. Well, aside for Rock Band, but whatever," The blonde behind him rolled his eyes.

The martial artist laughed again. "I'll second that." They slipped out of the crowd of people coming out of the airport, and meandered down the sidewalk. "So, what have you been up to?"

"Oh, y'know, working," Matt offered.

"You call what you do working? _I_ work," Mello interjected.

"Being peacekeeper and technical support is very exhausting work, I'll have you know. Especially with you two being opposing forces."

"Yeah, sure, whatever."

Ben was thoroughly confused. "Who are we talking about now?"

"No one," Mello grunted, flagging down a cab. "So where are you crashing here in the city?"

After delivering his address to the cab driver in Japanese, they climbed in, with Mello in the front seat, as usual. They took a minute to breathe, and began to converse in English. The driver gave them a perplexed look, not understanding what they were saying.

"So Linda told me she went to one of the classes at the dojo last week," Matt began, pulling something relating to the three of them from thin air.

Ben nodded. "Yeah. She watched, ooh'd and aw'd. We went out for lunch afterward, and she said that my training could have helped her with her whole issue with Riley. I told her to join, she told me that even taking lunch with me was the longest she'd been away from Nora since she was born."

"Yeah, a bit of martial arts might have saved my head with that bastard, too," Matt hummed, running a finger over his scar. "Sounds to me like you've got a crush on her."

His face reddened slightly. "She's got Kyle, and I'm in Japan now. Doesn't matter anymore," he figured with a tilt of his head.

"But you did."

"Aw man, this jetlag's horrible. My body feels like it's bedtime," he yawned sarcastically.

Matt socked him in the shoulder. "Bullshit, it's barely seven P.M. there."

"And that's my bedtime!" He stretched, chortling. "So, I oughta get to my new room and go take a nap, don't you think?" His lame excuse was timed perfectly as the cab pulled up to his apartment building. Paying off his ride, he waved at Matt and Mello one more time. "See you guys later!"

"Yeah, yeah," The redhead rolled his eyes. "Bye!"

…

The next week or so went by incredibly slowly for Matt especially. With Ben busy with training and Linda with such a tine difference, that only left his immediate company to talk to. Call him crazy, but Matt didn't exactly think Near was the most interesting talker in the world. Besides, he and Mello were always collaborating, brainstorming and refining ideas. So, as with most of his life, the hacker sought comfort with his video games.

Mello was indeed busy. Plans for finally taking down Kira were beginning to form, and soon, it was one of the only things Mello could think about.

"To start this whole fiasco off, Matt'll drive up and shoot a smoke grenade at Takada's escort party, right Matt?"

He turned around to Matt, who was sitting in a gaming chair he'd had Near get for him, concentrating on the Legend of Zelda game before him on one of the many screens lining the wall. He waved one hand in their general direction. "Yeah, yeah."

"And that's where you come in," he explained, leaning forward. "You give Takada to me on my motorcycle."

Halle nodded. "Mello, you've told me my part of the plan exactly sixteen times now. I _have_ been counting," She sighed, rubbing her forehead tiredly.

He sat back in the plush swivel chair and spun lazily. "I know. This just can't go wrong."

"Go take a break, breathe a little. We've still got a couple weeks until this actually happens, you know," Lidner offered. "I'm sure Matt would be glad to join you," She nodded at the redhead. A smoldering cigarette now hung from his lip.

He manipulated the controls as if in a Zen mode. "She's right, Mels." He lowered his cancer stick to an ash tray on the floor beside him.

"Matt, how many times have I asked you, please do not smoke indoors. There is a fire escape right there," Near pointed at the curtain with one of his toys as he stifled a cough.

"What about it?" The gamer didn't take his eyes off the screen.

"_Anyway,_" Mello began, cutting off any sort of reply from the white-haired boy on the floor. His jaw worked. Abruptly, he stood, beckoning the former SPK member out of the room. Halle followed.

"Do you know the rest of this plan?" Mello asked her plainly.

She paused for a moment, thinking. "No," she answered truthfully, "I don't."

"Then it's best you learn." Mello led her to a small sitting room lined in clear windows overlooking the city. They sat across from each other on opposite black sofas, a coffee table separating them.

Mello looked out the window at the late afternoon sky. "We need to get rid of Takada."

"Yes."

"And we're almost sure she's receiving names from Mikami of people to murder."

"Yes."

He paused and took a breath. "She'll have to kill me."

"What?" Halle leaned forward. Had she heard that correctly?

"You heard me. She'll be desperate to escape, and to do that, she'll have to kill her captor—me. The second L—Kira—will know she's been found out, and will kill her, too."

"Mello, you can't—"

"Miss Lidner," Mello cut her off, "I know you don't know me that well, but here's a hint: The one sure way to get me to do something is to tell me I can't." She was silent, but listened intently. "I'm giving the ultimate sacrifice for this case. You and Near _have_ to make sure that I don't die in vain."

She nodded. "What about Matt? Does he know?"

His face grew dark, and he gazed out the window once more. "I don't have the heart to tell him," he whispered. He bit at his lip, thinking about his partner in the other room. Halle examined the floor. "He's smart; he'll figure it out eventually."

There was a silence between them. "So now you understand why I keep going over this?"

"Yes."

He stood, and hooking his thumbs into the pockets of his pants, said finally, "I won't die for nothing." With that, he was gone.

From that moment, Halle looked at him in a different light. He was so casual as he dropped beside Matt and took the fake guitar that was proffered to him. Nothing about his posture or manner suggested he was conscious of his rapidly dwindling lifetime. Matt surely didn't suspect anything as well—or at least didn't appear to know. He was as enthralled in his game as he could be. Mello lay comfortably with his head in his lap, strumming away. It was hard to believe that if his plan went as anticipated, he would be dead by the end of the month.

She sat down at the chair again and hesitantly resumed her work. Near glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. _He knows._

He bowed his head in a nod, confirming her suspicions.

**A/N: **And I stay up late again to finish yet another installment of Score One! There's not much I can really say about this chapter, besides pointing out the rather drastic mood change halfway through, heh. I teared up a little while writing this. D: Well, hope you all enjoyed! Reviews make my day. ;)


	39. Chapter 39

Having been dismissed from their work for the moment, Matt and Mello were sitting down in their apartment. Mello, being Mello, was still working, and was watching over Misa-Misa and Mogi, who had since "joined" their company in Near's building. He sat in the red over-stuffed chair with a chocolate bar in hand. Though he was staring at the laptop before him, his focus was centered at Matt. He sat across from him, clicking away at his Kingdom Hearts game.

He would be heartbroken when he found out Mello was to be killed by one of the Kiras. There was just a little over twenty-four hours until his projected D-day.

The blonde paused, chocolate bar halfway to his mouth. His stomach lurched with the realization. _I'm going to die tomorrow._ He set down the chocolate bar on the edge of the coffee table. Matt was so enthralled with his own addiction that he didn't notice as Mello put down his.

He stood. His crystal blue eyes stared out the window. Early afternoon light flooded the city. People bustled around, enjoying their usual lives. Underneath that mask of comfort with the mundane rut, there was fear. Fear that they wouldn't survive the day, that it was another's last day on Earth. No one knew for sure; it was all just speculation and paranoia. But Mello knew.

Finally, Matt realized Mello had stopped his work. He glanced up from his Nintendo DS. "What's up?"

Mello grabbed his game and tossed it on the chair he had previously occupied. Before Matt could protest, the blonde attached himself to the redhead by the lips. He crawled onto his lap, enjoying every possible moment. Matt's arms snaked around his back, and Mello's remained slung around the other's neck.

When the need for air overcame lust, they separated with a _smack._ Chest heaving, Matt blinked. "I'm not complaining, but why?"

Mello's mouth opened to speak, but he stopped himself. He didn't want Matt to be burdened by the prospect of his coming death. Instead, he managed a hoarse, "Because I can," and kissed him again. The hacker apparently accepted that explanation and melted into the kiss. Mello decided to abandon his laptop on that coffee table, and instead to enjoy his final day with the love of his admittedly short life.

...

Heat lazily drifted between the two sleeping bodies. Blonde and red hair was splayed out about them. Matt clutched onto Mello's hand, nuzzling his nose further into his neck as a cool breeze flowed over them.

Gevanni stood in the half-opened doorway and addressed them loudly, "Mello, Matt. It's time to get up. Near wants to go over a few last-minute additions before the big mission today."

"Alright," the blonde sighed. The dark-haired man slipped away.

Mello pried himself from Matt—a feat in and of itself—and almost managed to sit up without the ginger's arms slung around his waist, trying to pull him back into bed. "I don't wanna get up," Matt grumbled just short of incoherently.

"Too bad. Get up." With a grunt of effort, Mello stood, dragging the gamer with him. Matt finally let go, before he almost toppled over the edge of the bed. Gathering up the blanket around him, Matt drowsily followed.

In a short half hour, Mello was showered and dressed in his usual leathers, whereas Matt lazed about for a majority of that time, before tugging on a pair of jeans and the shirt he wore the previous day. He figured he hadn't done anything to warrant much sweating, and the only thing it smelled of was cigarette smoke mixed with petrichor and Old Spice. If it passed the sniff test, it was good enough for Matt.

As the hacker's brain finally began to kick into gear as the climbed the one flight of stairs to Near's floor, he watched Mello in front of him. Besides his nice ass, that is. There was something… apprehensive, about the way he carried himself. Nothing huge, but a minor detail that only one who has lived their life with him would notice. A slight slump to his shoulders, or hesitation in step.

He shrugged it off as Mello squared his shoulders again as they entered the room. Always needed that nice façade for Wammy's best and brightest.

As Near went over the plan one final time, Matt completely zoned out. Though he told himself not to worry, he couldn't help but examine Mello closely. Something was off. Was it nerves? Nah, the great Mello never got nervous. Not even when he was caught in that explosion, he bet, was the famous blonde ever nervous. It had to be something else. Something he ate? They'd made peanut butter and jelly late into the night to quell their rumbling stomachs. _No…_

Matt came to the end of his mental checklist, finding nothing to be of issue. As Near finally stopped talking, he zoomed back into the conversation, though there was nothing more than a mere "Good luck and good bye." Rester offered a "Godspeed," and Gevanni a nod, as they walked out the door.

…

There was a tense feeling in the air as the pair stood in the parking lot of a recently closed Laundromat. Coats and gloves and pants and shirts were adjusted in the anxious atmosphere.

Mello stood before Matt and snapped his goggles off his eyes for a moment. He placed a rather passionate kiss on his lips and pulled him into a constricting hug.

"Come back alive," Mello murmured into the fuzzy vest as he squeezed him tightly. _I won't be. _Matt jumped when cold metal touched his neck as a pistol was slid down the neckline of his vest, followed by a familiar, gloved hand smacking his back pocket as the blonde pulled back.

Matt exhaled, waving his neck around as he got used to the extra weight in his shirt. "I'll try."

"Don't try, you prick. _Do_," Mello insisted, slapping his striped shoulder one more time.

The gamer pulled his goggles down and sidled into the driver's seat of his fantasy red sports car. Mello fastened his black helmet and revved the engine of his motorcycle. Matt patted the smoke grenade launcher stowed beneath the seat and put the car into gear.

"Let's do this thing."

**A/N: **We all know what's next. D:

I would just like to point out that I wrote that last section months ago. C;

I can't believe this is almost over! Three more chapters, my lovelies! Are you all as excited as I am? Leave a review, they make my day. C:

Hope y'all enjoyed this chapter! :D

Prepare for the end!


	40. Chapter 40

Mello watched as the cherry red Camaro pulled out of the lot. Matt saluted him in the mirror just as he disappeared behind a building. With a steadying breath, he pressed his rosary to his lips before revving the engine of his bike once more. Kicking off, he zoomed down the street, waiting for the right moment.

Matt got on the highway, driving beside the set of limos and shady black cars that were Takada's escort. For the first time since the plan was first presented, he actually thought it through, step-by-step. Where exactly would this all get them in the end? Mello will off Takada, right? And they'd be down one insane murderer. But simply killing her wouldn't prove that she was the one responsible for most of the Kira-related deaths as of late. Besides, that would make Mello even more of a murderer than he probably already was, as a Mafia boss.

He froze when he realized the only way to thoroughly prove that was for her to kill Mello. Then the first Kira would kill her off because she'd be discovered. The blood drained from his face, and he jerked the steering wheel as he almost missed his turn. _That bastard's gonna sacrifice himself._

_But why didn't he tell me? _He asked himself, tightening his grip on the wheel. _It's obvious he didn't want me to worry. He'd die, I'd be heartbroken and I'd go on my merry way. No, won't work that way,_ he decided quickly. When he wanted to, Matt's brain could operate efficiently at high speeds. However, this was not the case most of the time. But now he wanted to. He lit up a cigarette.

He slowed behind the escort and watched as Takada stepped out of the car. Halle in the line of body guards made an almost imperceptible eye contact with Matt, and he nodded with a smirk. He rolled down the window of his Camaro as he skidded by the procession. The smoke grenade launcher found its way from beneath the seat and into his hand. Suddenly, the area was filled in a thick, almost opaque smoke. The plan was underway.

Matt zoomed off, anticipating the cars Halle was about to send after him. Rather than continuing toward the destination they had prepared to ensure his survival, the hacker cut a wide corner across an intersection and floored it. _Let what happens happen._

_._

As soon as Mello picked up Takada, the call went out to the other bodyguards to follow them—two teams of cars for Mello and the rest for Matt. Three cars were easier to lose, and knowing Matt's high score in _Need for Speed_, he could outmaneuver the guards easily—if he followed the plan.

Alas, he didn't, and he almost immediately came upon a blockade of black cars. _Shit. Okay, whatever. So they got ahead of me. How many damn body guards does one woman need, anyway? _He put on his best façade as he came to a screeching halt and stepped out of the car. Maybe if he acted smoothly now, he'd be able to hijack one of their cars and stop Mello before he willingly put his head on the chopping block. His pulse raced through his physically relaxed body. He raised his hands calmly.

The line of guards leveled their firepower at him. He cleared his throat, thinking of something witty to say. "Since when were the Japanese allowed to carry around such big guns?" Okay, that wasn't the wittiest thing ever. He rolled with it. "You've got me. I'm part of this kidnapping incident, which means you'll have a lot of questions to ask." He suddenly remembered the pistol tucked in the collar of his vest. That could help…

His hands inched toward his head. "You won't shoo—"

They did.

Bullets by the dozen pierced Matt, staining his wool vest with his blood. He stood for one final moment before falling backward into his car, breath gone.

It was amazing what flew through his head at that very moment. The pain was white; he couldn't even feel anything anymore. Actual vision beyond his orange-tinted goggles was as good as gone. As he watched memories from throughout his life flit through his consciousness, he snorted in his head and thought above the other thoughts: _It's true; your life really _does_ flash before your eyes when you die. Remember all the good times... Holy shit, _I'm dying_._

The harsh reality set in not even a moment later. The spirit flew from his body as his last smoldering cigarette fell from his lips.

…

By now, Mello had followed his and Near's formula to the T. He had switched vehicles from his motorcycle to the semi-truck. He'd stripped Takada clean of everything she wore, but was sure to give her the blanket so she could believe she smuggled the pieces of the Death Note from his watchful gaze.

He boarded the cabin of the truck again, and flipped on the small television to check the progress of the other bodyguards. When his eyes met a bird's eye view of Matt's car with the door wide open and full of bullet holes, his jaw clenched shut. His heart tore in two when he caught sight of the bloodied body left leaning against its tire. "Matt," He breathed. He choked back any reaction further than a solemn, "I never thought you'd be killed… I'm sorry."

Mello could feel his heart thumping low in his stomach. He blinked away the tears that suddenly threatened to gather at the corner of his eyes. _Focus. Just keep going with the plan._ One hand fell from the steering wheel and moved to his rosary. He concentrated on breathing and driving, completely ignoring the fact that that was the first time he had even begun to cry out of mourning since the day he lost his parents fourteen years ago.

_He figured it out, and tried to save me._ Gritting his teeth, he shook his head and returned both hands to the wheel. _I'll be there soon, Mattie. Don't you worry._

Gravel crunched beneath the tires of the truck as he pulled into the dilapidated structure that was at one point in time a church. He killed the engine and sat back. All was silent. The woman behind him in the bed of the semi must have been terrified to the point of speechlessness. _Don't worry,_ Mello thought with a sneer, _your own partner in crime will dispose of you soon enough._

His death was imminent. He knew it. He had long ago accepted it. It would take until that moment when his heart stopped beating to accept the fact that Matt was gone, too. He thought that if Matt had lived, he could have gotten over Mello's death. He would go back to Linda in L.A. Get his own apartment. Start over, meet new people—maybe even find another person to love. It was heart-wrenching for Mello to even think about, but that was much better than the alternative for him—the alternative that had already become the reality.

Before Mello could realize what had happened, the tears were streaming down his face. Silently, they rolled off his chin and onto his leather pants. He clenched his jaw, holding in whatever emotion he was in danger of letting out. Gloved hands dug at his eyes, drying the tears. He could feel the ridges of his scar even through thick leather gloves.

Any moment now. Any moment and the pain in his chest would come, and then not a moment later, he'd be dead, laid out across the cabin of the truck. He was prepared for it, anticipating it. He twirled his rosary around his fingers, waiting, biting down hard on his lip.

There it was. That sudden sharp pain right in his heart. He laughed bitterly, thinking, _Funny. My best friend and love of my life dies, then minutes later I die… of a broken heart—literally._

He let out a stifled exclamation of surprise, and he dropped the beads from his fingers. He hadn't anticipated the degree of the pain. The tears were back, and he screamed out the rest of his built-up emotions from throughout the years. He didn't care if Takada heard him. He'd be dead in seconds anyway. _Hear me. Know that I'm human too. I loved and was loved. My best friend was killed because of _me_. And now you're following in my tracks. Fuck you._

With that, there was one more stab of pain and he let out one last cry before falling forward. His forehead hit the steering wheel and bounced slightly before coming to a halt. His rosary draped over the bottom half of the wheel, still swinging with the sudden jerk forward. Mello's crystal blue eyes stared forward, lifeless.

**A/N: ***hands out tissues* I'm sorry, everyone! I really am. Heart breaking even for me. There's one more technical chapter, then an epilogue, to give fair warning. They should both be out by the end of next week, my lovelies.

As bittersweet and melancholy as it was, I hope you enjoyed it. Reviews make my day, as you very well know already! :D


	41. Chapter 41

The loud din of music, television and voices of all volumes echoed throughout the bar. Ben sat at one of the low tables with a considerably large group of people. He perched at the far edge of the booth, Coke in hand. A man across the table cracked a joke, and everyone laughed.

He drained the last sip of soda from the glass and slid off the seat. He leaned down to the girl beside him—a second degree from the school—and shouted over the noise, "I'm off to the bathroom, be back in a minute."

"Okay, we'll be here."

Ben dropped his glass onto the bar as he passed by on his way to the bathroom. After relieving himself and taking a moment to run a hand through his hair, he returned to the bustling bar. A flash of red and the voice of a news anchor caught his attention, and he glanced at the large flat-screen TV handing above the bar. He sauntered over to the bar, leaning his forearms on the counter between to fellows with their backs to each other.

"As for the suspect who was gunned down earlier, we're still not able to identify him. The police are tracking the remaining suspect and are currently…" Ben stopped listening when his eyes hit the screen. _Hey, that looks like my old car._ He froze. He recognized that hair, the vest, those goggles. It couldn't be… He whipped out his phone as he booked it back to the bathroom.

Ben entered the restroom and leaned up against the sink, looking into the mirror as he held the phone to his ear. "Pick up, pick up, pick up, pick up—Damn it Mello, fucking pick up!" He murmured under his breath.

.

There was a faint vibrating noise coming from the table in front of Rester. He tossed the phone to the white-haired boy sitting in the middle of the floor, ready to catch the device. The name on the screen blinked: _Kilik._ He answered. "Yes?"

"You're not Mello."

"Why no, I am not."

"And who might you be?"

"I might ask the same question of you." Near twirled a lock of his hair around his finger thoughtfully.

Ben lowered his voice as another man entered the bathroom. "If you're who I think you are, you're very well aware of how this phone works."

Near let out a single empty laugh. "And who do you think I am?"

"Near."

That caused him to pause. "Very good. This cell phone only receives numbers programmed into a specially made system that is completely off the grid. Yours is one of them. Then I presume Mello told you about me, Kilik?"

"I haven't gone by that name since I got my life back together. It's Ben, thank you. And he hasn't told me directly, but the amount of times he nearly punches holes in my walls screaming about some Near kid who carries no emotion in any aspect and also who happens to look like an albino sheep… That's more than enough to tip me off," He examined the blue tile flooring of the bar's restroom.

"Very well, Ben. What did you wish to speak with Mello for?"

"Is Matt dead?" He asked without hesitation. "Did Kira kill him?"

Near replied just as quickly. "Yes. And I am afraid Mello is, as well. They sacrificed their lives for the noble cause of solving the Kira case."

Ben fell back against the wall. The man who had entered behind him walked out. "Well shit."

"I presume you and Mello and Matt were friends?"

"They lived with me for a little bit—Mello for two months, Matt only one. I knew Mello beforehand, though," he explained briefly. A thought occurred to him. "Linda will be devastated."

Near nodded in agreement, even if it couldn't be seen. "She and Matt were always the best of friends."

"Yeah, I knew that." Ben leaned his elbows on the sink and held his head for a moment, thinking. In a moment, he decided his next course of action. "Hey, could you do me a favor and not tell Linda just yet? I don't want her to be on her own when she finds out."

"Whatever you wish. I'm sure she will appreciate your consideration." He glanced at Rester. "But for now I must go. I'm sorry for your loss."

"And yours too," Ben nodded, disconnecting the call.

…

At eleven A.M. in Los Angeles time, he buzzed Linda's room once, twice, three times. No answer. He entered the studio itself, and asked the secretary in a rather rushed manner if she knew where Linda Wammy was. She was working in a smaller room with some other artists, as he had predicted.

He stopped short at the archway that led to the high-ceiling room. The room was dark, lit only by a single focused light beam at a large pile of what looked to be metal scraps and wire. Ben watched for a moment, mesmerized, as he realized the shadow cast from the so-called pile of junk was in the shape of a half-done tiger head. He could feel artists bustling back and forth in the dark, and hear their quiet conversation above music from a radio. His eyes set on Linda, who was carefully fastening another wire onto the specifically tangle mass. She looked between her fingers and the shadow on the white wall, face highlighted by the beam.

"Linda?"

Hearing her name, she slowly stepped back from the project. She recognized that voice, but it couldn't be; he had already left. Something was wrong. Her eyebrows scrunched together and she squinted at him against the backlight of the hallway. She moved around the construction, eyes not leaving his figure. "Ben?"

He nodded, "It's me."

"What are you doing here? I thought you went to Japan weeks ago," She asked when she reached him.

"Well, I was…" He inhaled. At a loss for words, he touched her shoulder and turned her out of the room. Together they walked down the bright hallway, steps slow and tentative.

"Then why did you come back? What happened?"

He stopped. "I'm not sure why, and I'm not sure how, but…" Linda's heart was in her throat, and she listened eagerly. "Mello and Matt are gone."

She froze. "What…?" She hazed at him imploringly, waiting for some further explanation. There was only a nod in return. "No. _No," _Linda shook her head, unable to believe him. "You're joking. Please tell me they've killed Kira and wanted to play some sick practical joke on me," she begged.

"I'm sorry. I spoke to Near. They were both killed... well, today, technically."

"No! Mattie was supposed to come visit me… that's not… No!" She ran her fingers through her tied-back brunette hair. A river of tears had already begun to fall. She clenched her teeth and paced back and forth across the hallway a few times before slamming her back against the wall, defeated.

Ben's vision flicked between Linda and the floor. He outstretched his arms when she stopped moving, and she clung to him, still mumbling disbelievingly into his pullover. He closed his eyes. "I'm sorry."

…

The river had dried.

Silence blanketed the small procession. Everything and everyone was clad in black, except for the green trees and unusually clear Winchester sky.

The wind whistled through the trees, ruffling the straight dark hair that fell over her shoulders. She was no longer the strong, twenty-year-old woman she previously was. She was now a mere child, hurt and broken by the premature deaths of her two lifelong friends. Her normally clear and alert brown eyes were red and clouded with grief and residual tears as she stared at the two caskets before her. Her black dress rippled around her legs in the breeze.

"I guess this is goodbye." Her voice rasped in the quiet. She pressed her fist into her eyes, trying to bar back more tears.

Linda stood, eyes darting between the two caskets where she knew the bodies of her two best friends resided. Her lip quivered as she read the name plates, "Mihael Keehl" and "Mail Jeevas," their identities no longer hidden in death. Beyond her control, the river began to flow again, silently this time. "Happy birthday, Matt," she choked out.

Kyle standing in the quiet crowd handed off a quiet Nora to Ben standing beside him. He stepped up behind his girlfriend and grasped at her hand comfortingly.

"I loved them," She sobbed, twirling into Kyle.

He rubbed her back soothingly. "I know, Linda. I know."

He escorted her back to the crowd, where she fell between Kyle and the man holding her child. Nora reached out for her and she took the baby onto her hip. "Thanks, Ben."

"No problem," He said fondly, glancing at Kyle behind her. They both shifted awkwardly, sharing a look.

The funeral came to a somber close with the burial of two of the notorious Wammy boys. Stray tears speckled the dry pavement. The small number of people invited to the procession dispersed, silent, in loving memory of Mihael "Mello" Keehl and Mail "Matt" Jeevas.

**A/N: ***keeps out supply of tissues*

And now perhaps the two best characters I've ever heard of are gone...

Just the epilogue to go. It's been great writing this! I'm gonna miss it when it's over. I'll save all of that mushy stuff for myself, though. C:

Hope you enjoyed it, and leave a review to make my day! :D

Until next time!


	42. Chapter 42

Time flies so quickly. The only thing that gives away the passage of it these days is Nora. She seems to get bigger and bigger every day. When her first birthday rolled around, I was blown away. That first summer after their deaths, though, marked a new beginning for us—or perhaps an old beginning.

I'm not with Kyle anymore. I couldn't take the secrecy. My whole life, essentially, was censored to him because of the invisibility of Wammy's House, the danger of being associated with an ex-Mafioso, and our connections to the late but great L—to name a few. He didn't quite understand, and I knew he wouldn't, but it was a clean split.

Although working under Master Wiatt was one of my dreams, I'd already lived it by then, and I abandoned the studio. Packed up our things and left. At first, I wasn't quite sure where to go, but I knew of one place and one place only I knew I would always be welcome back at: Wammy's House for Extraordinary Children.

Roger wasn't as surprised as I thought he would be when I called him up and notified him of my coming. He seemed to have expected it, in fact. In any case, Nora and I arrived in Winchester on the morning of June first. It was a beautiful day, and most of the children of the orphanage were out and about. This gave me an opportunity to go inside unburdened, and speak with Roger alone. Adrian, the stuttering assistant I knew back from my days there had matured just as I had, and was now a reliable second-in-command. He took Nora off my hands so our meeting could commence.

As it turned out, I came at the perfect time. Our old art teacher, Mrs. Gaudet, was leaving the orphanage for medical and personal reasons. And, as alumni of Wammy's House, I was in the perfect position to join the staff. At not even twenty-one, I would be the definite youngest teacher of the orphanage, but I had the experience and the skills, so I took it. Hell, I'd take any job if someone just handed it to me like that, especially in the place I grew up as a child.

For that first month in June, we settled in normally. I reunited with a few younger students I hadn't seen in a while. I met with a lot of the new generation. They're as bright as usual. It hurt, though, watching them all bustle around with all of the happiness I used to have when I lived there, happiness I always shared with Matt. It hit me that I was never going to be able to hear his voice or feel his arms around me ever again. I was so lonely that first month, so I asked Roger if I could invite one friend to visit for a few days.

So naturally, I invited Ben—one of the only friends I've kept in touch with who was still alive, more importantly. We planned for him to come the first week of July. While he was here, he could not only be with me, but the kids at Wammy's, too. I also told him that there's a Bujinkan dojo not too far into town that he could attend so he wouldn't lose too much time for training.

But, being Ben, he stayed with me at the orphanage the whole time.

On the fourth of July, Wammy's held a small fireworks display in the back fields. Sure, we lived in England, but more than a few students had come from America, so we had a small Independence Day celebration involving said fireworks and sparklers.

I swear, Ben was born to be with kids. He may not have a creative bone in his body, but when it comes to waving three-foot-long sparklers around with a bunch of six- to ten-year-olds, he's a pro. I sat on the grass watching them, smiling all the while.

I think it was right about then that I realized how much I liked Ben. I knew he'd be heading back to Japan in a few days, though, so I didn't exactly get my hopes up. Ben would return to his life and I'd continue mine as teacher, artist, and mother.

Which is exactly what happened.

Except…

Before he left, just a couple days from his twenty-sixth birthday, Ben took Roger into his office and had a brief conversation with him. Upon returning to the sitting room where I and a few of the children sat, he was smiling ear to ear. On the ride to the airport, he told me something I was ecstatic to hear. One he achieved his fifth degree black belt, he would be considered a master, and he had proposed the opening of a private dojo just for the students of Wammy's House. Roger agreed. He was coming back. Even if it would take a year more, he was coming back, and I wouldn't be alone anymore.

The holidays came and went. It wasn't quite the same without them.

I know my story of this last year thus far has been rather devoid of Matt and Mello. Trust me, they rarely left my mind. I still choke up every time I hear their names, every time I pass by what used to be their room. Seeing Ben was hard enough at first, given all of the memories we share of the late dynamic duo. It was hard enough knowing they were buried less than a few hundred yards from me wherever I was on the Wammy's House campus.

You can be sure I went out there. That was where I resided during the tough times, when I needed a shoulder to lean on but didn't have one. In that case, I had Matt and Mello… or at least, their memories and a snow-covered gravestone. I went out there on all of our birthdays. I sat out on a bench in the private cemetery and ate lunch with them in the cold.

On January 26th, the anniversary of their deaths, I finally took Nora out there for the first time. We strolled together through the snow, as she was just beginning to walk. It was her innocent look as she pressed her mitten-clad hands against "Uncle Matt's" grave that finally broke me to tears. I dropped to my knees right there in the cemetery and bawled my eyes out. Nora clung to me, and I hugged her tightly. I could almost feel Matt kissing me on the forehead and telling me everything would be okay.

It hit me at that moment that my daughter would not remember anything of perhaps my two best friends in my entire life. They were going to be an enigma to her, completely lost in the shadows of the past. She would know of them only through those two stones and the great stories I will continue to tell her as she grows up.

It also hit me, that same day on that same trip out to the snowy graveyard, that I was the one to bring Mello and Matt together. I specifically remembered the first time I saw them kissing. They may have ended up together later on their own, but I was a definite catalyst speeding up the process with my accusations of Matt's being the uke.

It was that first score one that started it all.

THE END

**A/N: **I can't believe it's oveeeeeer!

There _is_ a reason I waited until today to publish this final chapter. Today, May 2nd, is my grandfather's 73rd birthday. Unfortunately, he died back in February. This being so, I identify with Linda upon eating lunch with the memories of those past, and find it completely normal to sit in the sun and eat oreos with my grandpa. C:

Gigantic and unending thanks to all of my reviewers who kept me going throughout this:

Fuzzycarrotfriends, 494dwangel, brightnight003, LawlietLover, Lotta Devon, Enna-Chan, Giraffe Neck, lolgreeness, v-feather, Smilexemptyxsould, I. P. Nightly, karmelowamilka, McKaleJeehl, and all of the anonymous reviews I've received. Also, anyone who has added this story (or this author) to their alerts or favorites lists!

Even bigger thanks to my two best friends inuyasha9lover and kaorutherainbowninja for bearing with my incessant chattering about this story and my begging for you guys to pre-read the latest chapter at the smallest hours of the night. Thanks for letting me bounce ideas off you guys when you'd rather be doing something else, and for overall being there for this entire story. C:

Thank you all for reading this entire story! I very much hope you enjoyed it. I know I sure did!

Farewell!

~The Nearly Missed


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